Bayer Leverkusen misses club World Cup: View of the new football era!

Bayer Leverkusen misses club World Cup: View of the new football era!

On May 2, 2025, the football world is faced with a change, because the FIFA club World Championship will be held in a new format. The renowned competition, which took place for the first time in 2000, is now coming up with 32 teams and a new game mode. This means the end of the previous system with only seven participating teams, which was valid until 2023. But not every club will have the chance to qualify for this prestigious tournament. Bayer Leverkusen, despite a successful Doublegwinn in the 2023/24 season under coach Xabi Alonso, remains excluded from this event.

The new club World Cup will take place in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025, and the participants are drawn on December 5, 2023 in Miami. The UEFA provides twelve participants, but they are not determined by the placement in the national league. This is in contrast to the rules, among which qualifications used to be only through national championships. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have qualified as the two German teams, while Leverkusen is leaving empty due to the new regulations, despite their impressive success.

scope and structure of the tournament

The club World Cup 2025 will come up with a new game mode, which provides for a round tournament with eight groups of four teams each. The two best teams of each group qualify for the knockout phase. The games are played in a total of 12 stadiums in well -known cities such as New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami. The opening game will take place on June 15, 2025 in Miami. Each team receives a guaranteed sum of 50 million euros, and the tournament winner can take up to 100 million euros, which makes the tournament extremely lucrative for many clubs.

In the past, the constellations for the tournament were determined according to the rankings of the continental associations. This means that the first lottery pot includes the best four teams from Europe and South America, while in the second pot the remaining eight European clubs are listed. The remaining places are awarded by the associations of the other continents, which should lead to a broader representation.

criticism and challenges

Despite the exciting innovations, there are also considerable concerns about the growing burden for the players. The increased schedule ensures that this could lead to injuries and psychological problems. The FIFPRO player union has already critically pointed out these aspects. Even prominent players such as Toni Kroos said concerns and announced not to participate in the tournament.

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is summarized in an innovative format that throws many old rules overboard. Nevertheless, despite his recent successes, Bayer Leverkusen will not be able to take part in this championship competition, which should further fuel the discussion about the qualification criteria.