Are Chelsea In The Next Club World Cup?

You’d think the winners of this year's Club World Cup would automatically get a spot for the next showing of the competition. However that’s not the case, as Chelsea haven’t qualified for the next Club World Cup. So how does qualification for the tournament actually work?

How Did Chelsea Qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup?

The Blues earnt qualification for the 2025 Club World Cup by winning the 2021 Champions League. This is because four of UEFA’s 12 places go to the Champions League winners from the previous four seasons. So for this year’s tournament the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Champions League winners all qualified for the competition.

You might be thinking as to why PSG didn’t automatically qualify for the Club World Cup this year, as they won the 2025 Champions League. However that is because they have instead booked their ticket for the 2029 edition of the tournament. It means that PSG are just one of only four clubs to have already qualified for the next showing of the competition.

Have Any Teams Qualified for the Next Club World Cup?

After Chelsea’s rampant 3-0 win over PSG in the final of the Club World Cup, attention now turns to qualification for the next tournament in 2029. As like this year’s new format, the 2029 Club World Cup will consist of 32 teams, with eight groups of four teams. With each continent being given a certain allocation of spots, it makes qualifying for the competition that extra bit harder.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) have been given 12 spots, South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) with six places, Confederation of African Football (CAF) with four spots, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) with four places, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association of Football (CONCACAF) with four spots, with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) given one spot alongside the host nation allocated a place. However the host nation is yet to be announced for the 2029 edition of the Club World Cup.

Despite being four years away from the start of the next tournament, four teams have already booked their place in the group stage. PSG will be at the 2029 edition thanks to winning the 2024/25 Champions League. Egyptian side Pyramids won the 2024/25 CAF Champions League whilst Mexican club Cruz Azul won the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Saudi side Al Ahli won the 2024/25 AFC Champions League Elite earning them a spot in the competition.

How Can Teams Qualify for the Next Club World Cup?

Regarding the 12 places UEFA has, the four Champions League winners (from the 2024/25 season to the 2027/28 campaign) will qualify for the competition. The eight spots remaining go to the clubs who have the highest rankings in the UEFA four-year ranking system.

The six places that the CONMEBOL has will be given to the four winners of the Copa Libertadores (from the 2024/25 season to the 2027/28 campaign) and the two highest ranked teams in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking scheme.

The four winners of the CAF Champions League (from the 2024/25 season to the 2027/28 campaign) will be awarded all of CAF’s places, with the next four champions of the AFC Champions League Elite being granted the spots from AFC’s allocation.

The four CONCACAF Champions Cup winners (from the 2024/25 season to the 2027/28 campaign) will be assigned all four spots from CONCACAF. The OFC Champions League winner with the highest ranking in the OFC four-year ranking system will qualify for the tournament.

The host nation will also be given a slot to provide a club from their nation to play in the competition.