Messi’s Inter Miami will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will take part in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup next year, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Saturday.

Messi and his teammates will open the tournament on Sunday, June 15, with the opening game at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, Infantino added.

The FIFA president spoke on the pitch at Inter’s Chase Stadium shortly after Messi scored a hat-trick as the team broke the MLS regular-season points record with a 6-2 win over the New England Revolution.

Miami, which won Major League Soccer’s Supporters’ Shield this month for the best regular-season record, will take the host nation’s designated qualifying spot.

“Inter Miami qualifies due to the club’s outstanding and consistent 34-game season that secured the title of host nation representative team with two MLS games remaining,” FIFA said in a statement.

The official MLS champions will be determined in the MLS Cup playoffs, which begin next week and conclude with the final on December 7th.

Miami is the favorite to win the playoffs, but FIFA’s decision to select the regular season winners ensures the Argentine superstar’s involvement.

The participation of eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is a much-needed boost to the revamped tournament, which FIFA hopes will capture the imagination of global television audiences as well as fans in the United States ahead of the World Cup in 2026.

The competition could see Messi face a top European club for the first time since moving to Miami from Paris Saint-Germain last year.

The 32-team tournament features title-winning teams from all continental FIFA confederations.

Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are among the 12 European teams that have qualified for the tournament, while Argentina’s River Plate and Boca Juniors and Brazil’s Flamengo are among the six South American teams.

FIFA has not yet announced any broadcast deals or sponsorship deals for the tournament and the competition has faced some opposition within the game.

The players’ union FIFpro and the European Leagues committee filed a joint complaint with the European Commission against FIFA over the inclusion of the tournament in the international match calendar.

Opponents of the new tournament said it would add strain to an already crowded schedule and increase the workload on players.

The last version of the Club World Cup featured seven teams in a knockout format and was won by Manchester City, who beat Brazil’s Fluminense in the final in Saudi Arabia.

FIFA plans to hold the expanded tournament every four years, although a host for the 2029 edition has not yet been decided.

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