Featured image credit: Yucel Moran on Unsplash
FIFA has revealed the 12 US stadiums that will host matches during its revamped Club World Cup next summer, with the final to be held at MetLife Stadium on July 13.
Other venues scheduled to host games are Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), TQL Stadium (Cincinnati), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), Geodis Park (Nashville), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte), Camping World Stadium (Orlando), Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando), Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Lumen Field (Seattle) and Audi Field (Washington, D.C.).
The 32-team tournament will begin on June 15. MetLife Stadium will host the final just over a year before it stages the 2026 World Cup final.
Of the 12 Club World Cup venues, five will also host matches at the World Cup a year later: MetLife Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, Lincoln Financial Field and Lumen Field.
The majority of the venues selected for the Club World Cup are on the east coast of the US, with only Lumen Field and Rose Bowl Stadium on the west coast. This comes after no east-coast venues were selected to host matches during next year’s Gold Cup national team tournament, which will take place at 14 stadiums across the US and Canada from June 14 to July 6.
The US was awarded hosting rights for the first edition of FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup back in June 2023. FIFA announced the host venues during an event in New York on Saturday.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “This new FIFA competition is the only true example in worldwide club football of real solidarity and inclusivity, allowing the best clubs from Africa, Asia, Central and North America and Oceania to play the powerhouses of Europe and South America in an incredible new World Cup which will impact enormously the growth of club football and talent globally.”
The draw for the Club World Cup will take place in December, with two of the 32 teams still to be confirmed: one from South America and one representing the US. The match schedule will be published shortly after the draw. So far, no broadcast agreements have been announced for the tournament.
FIFA has also announced that Global Citizen, an organisation seeking to end extreme poverty, has been granted rights to produce the first World Cup final half-time show for the 2026 tournament.
The four-year partnership also includes next year’s Club World Cup. More details on the initiatives will be announced in the coming months.
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