The 2025 Club World Cup will take shape Thursday shortly after 1 p.m. in Miami, where FIFA will conduct the draw for the tournament’s group stage. Real Madrid, Inter Miami and the rest of the 32-team field will learn their opponents — and their paths to a novel trophy.
This inaugural Club World Cup has been riddled with uncertainty. But with a broadcaster recently secured and 12 U.S. stadiums on board, the draw will be a pivotal landmark on the rocky route to kickoff.
The opener is slated for June 15 in Miami, and the final for July 13 in New Jersey. Beyond those dates and locations, not much else about the tournament is known. But it will come to life as FIFA draws the 32 clubs from four seeded pots into eight groups — and, soon thereafter, releases a full schedule.
Yahoo Sports will have live coverage of the draw and its aftermath below.
How to watch the Club World Cup draw
The event and the show begin at 1 p.m. ET. You can watch the draw live and for free on FIFA.com, FIFA+ or DAZN.
How the draw works
Much like a classic World Cup draw, the 32 teams have been placed in into four pots — in part based on meritocratic rankings, in part based on geography.
Pot 1: Manchester City (Europe), Real Madrid (Europe), Bayern Munich (Europe), PSG (Europe), Flamengo (South America), Palmeiras (South America), River Plate (South America), Fluminense (South America)
Pot 2: Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Porto, Atlético Madrid, Benfica, Juventus, RB Salzburg (all Europe)
Pot 3: Al Hilal (Asia), Ulsan (Asia), Al Ahly (Africa), Wydad (Africa), Monterrey (CONCACAF), León (CONCACAF), Boca Juniors (South America), Botafogo (South America)
Pot 4: Urawa Reds (Asia), Al Ain (Asia), Espérance (Africa), Mamelodi Sundowns (Africa), Pachuca (CONCACAF), Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF), Auckland City (Oceania), Inter Miami (CONCACAF)
The draw begins with Pot 1. The first team picked goes into Group A, Position 1; the next team picked probably goes into Group B, Position 1; and so on. After all eight groups are filled with a Pot 1 team, a similar procedure empties Pot 2, then Pot 3, and finally Pot 4 — but subject to certain “constraints,” as explained here.
Follow along below starting at 12 p.m. ET as the orbs are drawn, and the groups are unveiled. We’ll unpack the complexities as they become relevant.