Get ready for double the Club World Cup football action as FIFA plans more tournaments

Brace yourselves, because FIFA is cooking up another stroke of...genius? According to The Guardian biennial Club World Cup could be starting in 2029 — that's every two years, folks. Just when you thought the football calendar couldn't get any more crammed, it's looking to shoehorn in yet another tournament, much to the unbridled joy of... well, mostly Real Madrid and any club that missed out on this year's colossal cash injection.

This summer, the US hosted the inaugural expanded 32-team Club World Cup, which Chelsea clinched, earning a cool £85m.

The new-look tournament was sort of a success; Chelsea seemed to have a good time, as did US President Donald Trump, who felt the desire to stay with the players for the trophy lift in a comical moment that won’t be forgotten any time soon. Outside of that, many were still not sold on the concept thanks to it feeling largely unnecessary.

Naturally, other European behemoths are now practically drooling over those Saudi-funded revenue streams and want in on the action. Liverpool, in particular, were reportedly gutted, having met the qualifying criteria only to be unceremoniously snubbed because FIFA decreed two English teams were quite enough (Chelsea and Manchester City, those coveted spot-holders).

While FIFA sources are currently playing a masterful game of coy regarding a 2027 tournament, they've got their eye on 2031 for another grand old bash. Their hands are tied until 2030, thanks to a rather inconvenient memorandum of understanding with the European Clubs Association. But after that? The global calendar is apparently wide open for a "good old-fashioned negotiation," which sounds suspiciously like "FIFA does precisely what FIFA wants."

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Of course, this whole two-year shindig is ruffling some serious feathers. World Leagues, a rather vocal lobby group that includes the Premier League, is already squaring up to sue FIFA for "abuse of dominance" – essentially, for not asking nicely before redecorating everyone's schedules.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters weighed in with a perfectly reasonable point: FIFA is supposed to regulate the global game and international football, not crash the club party. He's asking for a "seat at the table," which sounds suspiciously like "a chance to yell at them for a bit." Meanwhile, you can practically hear the passive-aggressive emails pinging between him and the Premier League's biggest clubs.

In a move that's either utterly genius or pure, unadulterated madness, FIFA might even contemplate scrapping the June international break to make room for this shiny new Club World Cup. UEFA, predictably, is clutching its pearls because that's precisely when it hosts the Nations League finals. It's a delicate dance of power, money, and who can shout the loudest.

Oh, and because FIFA loves consistency (sometimes), they're also mulling over upping the Club World Cup from 32 to a staggering 48 teams, just like the men's and women's World Cups. More teams, more games, more money, less rest.

It's also planning formal bidding processes for future tournaments, with Qatar, Spain, and Morocco already lining up, presumably with their wallets wide open.

Don’t get used to the summer off because the Club World Cup is about to get a whole lot bigger and a whole lot more frequent. It will be interesting to see where the conversation about player welfare fits into all this, with high-profile players like Rodri, Alisson, and more already speaking out about them playing too many games.

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