How can teams qualify for next Club World Cup?
How will European clubs qualify for the 2029 Club World Cup?
Twelve European clubs will play in the next edition of the Club World Cup.The winners of the Champions League in the 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28 seasons will join Paris St-Germain in qualifying.They will be joined by the next eight best-ranked teams competing in the Champions League over the next four years. Those are likely to be clubs who reach the latter stages of the competition without winning it.If a team wins the Champions League twice, then the next highest club in the rankings will qualify, and so on.Each European nation is restricted to two participating clubs only. That means that if, for example, two English teams qualify by winning the Champions League, no more can be added, regardless of their position in the rankings. There would be an exception if three different winners of the Champions League came from the same country.The winners of the 2028-29 do not qualify for the 2029 edition, unless they have already done so by winning the tournament previously or through the ranking system. The 2029 winners would qualify for the 2033 tournament.
How do teams from the rest of the world qualify for the 2029 Club World Cup?
In South America, the winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 will qualify, alongside the two best-ranked non-winners over the course of those years. Like in Europe, if there are repeat winners of the competition, the next highest team from the rankings will qualify.Each of Africa (Caf), Asia (AFC), and North and Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) have three further spots available respectively, on top of the one which has already been accounted for.They will be taken up by the winners of their continental competitions in 2026, 2027, and 2028.Oceania (OFC) only has one spot available, which will be awarded to the best performing winners of the OFC Professional League over the next four years. The OPL is a brand new continental league featuring eight teams and is set to begin in January 2026.The final space in the tournament is reserved for a club from the home nation, and could be offered out based on hitherto unspecified qualifying criteria, or by invitation.This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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