2025 FIFA Club World Cup qualification

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which decided the 32 participants in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. The final tournament was played in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025.
The majority of teams qualified based on performance in their respective confederation's club championships. Only a single [|play-in match] was played as part of qualification which determined the final team in the Club World Cup.

Slot allocation

On February 14, 2023, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation for the 2025 tournament based on a "set of objective metrics and criteria". UEFA were awarded the most slots with twelve, while CONMEBOL were given the second most with six. The AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF were all given four slots, while the OFC and the host association were given one slot each. On March 14, the FIFA Council approved the key principles of the access list for the tournament. The principles were as follows, considering competitions completed during a four-year period from 2021 to 2024:

CONMEBOL and UEFA : access for the winners of the confederation's top club competition between 2021 and 2024, with additional teams determined by a club ranking of the four-year period
AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF : access for the winners of the confederation's top club competition between 2021 and 2024
OFC : access for the highest-ranked club among the winners of the confederation's top club competition between 2021 and 2024
Host country : this was determined at a later stage.

If a club won two or more seasons of their confederation's top club competition, additional teams were determined by a club ranking of the four-year period. A restriction of two clubs per association was applied, with an exception for champion clubs if more than two clubs from the same association won their confederation's top club competition. The calculation method for the four-year club rankings within each confederation was based on sporting criteria during seasons completed between 2021 and 2024, and was finalized after consultation with confederations and stakeholders.

Host club selection

As with previous editions of the Club World Cup, the new format allocated a slot reserved for the host nation. Traditionally, this slot was filled by the defending champion of the host nation. The champion of Major League Soccer was determined by a postseason playoff rather than the regular season record. The exact qualification method had been left undetermined for an extended period of time into the 2024 regular season. At the mid-season MLS All-Star Game, league commissioner Don Garber suggested that the spot could be filled with the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield winner, the MLS Cup 2024 winner, or a possible playoff between them.
On October 19, 2024, FIFA president Gianni Infantino appeared on the pitch shortly after Inter Miami CF's 6–2 home win over the New England Revolution on Decision Day, and officially announced that the final slot would be given to Inter Miami as winners of the 2024 Supporters' Shield, prior to the beginning of the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs and after Inter Miami had already won the Shield. The rationale for this was considered to be because the Club World Cup has traditionally taken the host champions through who won silverware in the "league setting." FIFA explained that it chose the Supporters' Shield winner because that award reflects a league setting, as opposed to MLS Cup. It also stated that it made the decision prior to Inter Miami CF's win, but could not announce it until regulations were approved in pre-scheduled conventions.
This decision came under criticism from fans and media pundits for its lack of transparency, lack of qualification by traditional sporting merit, and as an attempt to court sponsors by ensuring that Lionel Messi would feature in the tournament. On November 10, 2024, Inter Miami was eliminated from the MLS Cup playoffs by Atlanta United FC in the first round. Despite this, then-Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino defended the selection of the team, arguing that the Supporters' Shield was enough justification for selection.

Qualified teams

The following teams qualified for the tournament: Years in bold indicate winner of that year's Club World Cup.

Confederation	Team	Qualification	Qualified date	Participation
AFC	Al-Hilal	Winners of the AFC Champions League		4th
AFC		Winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League	May 6, 2023	4th
AFC	Al Ain	Winners of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League	May 25, 2024	2nd
AFC	Ulsan HD	Best-ranked eligible team in the AFC four-year ranking	April 17, 2024	3rd
CAF	Al Ahly	Winners of the CAF Champions League	March 14, 2023	10th
CAF	Wydad AC	Winners of the 2021–22 CAF Champions League	March 14, 2023	3rd
CAF	Espérance de Tunis	Best-ranked eligible team in the CAF four-year ranking	April 26, 2024	4th
CAF	Mamelodi Sundowns	Second-best ranked eligible team in the CAF four-year ranking	April 26, 2024	2nd
CONCACAF	Monterrey	Winners of the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League	March 14, 2023	6th
CONCACAF	Seattle Sounders FC	Winners of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League	March 14, 2023	2nd
CONCACAF	Pachuca	Winners of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup	June 1, 2024	5th
CONCACAF	Los Angeles FC	Winners of play-in match	May 31, 2025	1st
CONMEBOL	Palmeiras	Winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores	March 14, 2023	3rd
CONMEBOL	Flamengo	Winners of the 2022 Copa Libertadores	March 14, 2023	3rd
CONMEBOL	Fluminense	Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores	November 4, 2023	2nd
CONMEBOL	Botafogo	Winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores	November 30, 2024	1st
CONMEBOL	River Plate	Best-ranked eligible team in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking	May 14, 2024	3rd
CONMEBOL	Boca Juniors	Second-best ranked eligible team in the CONMEBOL four-year ranking	August 22, 2024	2nd
OFC	Auckland City	Best OFC Champions League winners in the OFC four-year ranking	December 17, 2023	12th
UEFA	Chelsea	Winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League	March 14, 2023	3rd
UEFA	Real Madrid		March 14, 2023	7th
UEFA	Manchester City	Winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League	June 10, 2023	2nd
UEFA	Bayern Munich	Best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	December 17, 2023	3rd
UEFA	Paris Saint-Germain	Second-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	December 17, 2023	1st
UEFA	Inter Milan	Fourth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	December 17, 2023	2nd
UEFA	Porto	Fifth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	December 17, 2023	1st
UEFA	Benfica	Seventh-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	December 17, 2023	1st
UEFA	Borussia Dortmund	Third-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	March 6, 2024	1st
UEFA	Juventus	Eighth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	March 12, 2024	1st
UEFA	Atlético Madrid	Sixth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	April 16, 2024	1st
UEFA	Red Bull Salzburg	Ninth-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking	April 17, 2024	1st
Host	Inter Miami CF	Winners of the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield	October 19, 2024	1st

Confederation qualification

For confederations other than UEFA, the method was as follows:

3 points for a win
1 point for a draw
3 points for successful progression to each new stage of the competition

The method used by UEFA to calculate the club coefficient was "exceptionally applied" to rank the European teams, and was as follows:

2 points for a win
1 point for a draw
4 points for qualification for the Group stage
5 points for qualification for the round of 16
1 point for progress to each stage of the competition thereafter

AFC

Table showing the top ten in the AFC rankings, as well as other relevant teams. One team qualified through the confederation ranking method.

CAF

Table showing the top ten in the CAF rankings. Two teams qualified through the confederation ranking method.

CONCACAF

Table showing the top ten in the CONCACAF rankings, as well as other relevant teams.

CONMEBOL

Table showing the top ten in the CONMEBOL rankings, as well as other relevant teams. Two teams qualified through the confederation ranking method.

OFC

For the OFC, only the best-ranked club that were continental champions qualified for the tournament. The confederation ranking was therefore not applicable, as Auckland City won all three OFC Champions League competitions in this qualification timeframe.

UEFA

Table showing the top twenty in the UEFA rankings. Nine teams qualified through the confederation ranking method.

Play-in match

León was originally set to participate in the tournament as the winner of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League. However, the team was removed from the tournament by the FIFA Appeal Committee on March 21, 2025, due to violating the rules on multi-club ownership, as León and Pachuca have the same owner. On May 6, 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected appeals by León, Pachuca, and Alajuelense, who originally brought the case to FIFA. León's expulsion was confirmed by FIFA; their spot in the Club World Cup remaining vacant until further notice. In the same press release, FIFA announced that the vacant spot would not be given on merit, and instead ordered Los Angeles FC, the runners-up to León in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, and Club América, the top-ranked team in the CONCACAF confederation ranking at the conclusion of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup to compete against each other in a one-off match. FIFA also confirmed that the final spot would be awarded to the winner of the play-in, with further details coming at a later date. On May 16, 2025, FIFA officially announced the match would be held on May 31, hosted by Los Angeles FC at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.