- FIFA announce 12 stadiums to host 2025 Club World Cup matches
- Revamped tournament to take place in USA with 32 teams
- Real Madrid, Man City and Chelsea among participating sides
FIFA have at long last confirmed the 12 stadiums for the first edition of their revamped Club World Cup.
32 teams from across the globe will travel to the United States next summer to compete in the reformatted competition.
Europe will be represented by 12 clubs - Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Salzburg - but the prospect of the tournament going ahead was thrown into doubt in recent weeks.
High-profile players have publicly discussed the idea of striking in a row over the ludicrous amount of games they are having to feature in, while logistical problems threatened to derail FIFA's glamorous plans for the competition.
But late on Saturday night, FIFA overcame a major hurdle by announcing the 12 grounds that will host matches, with most of the venues featuring on the USA's east coast.
New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, which has a capacity of 82,500 and will host the FIFA World Cup final, will too host the Club World Cup final.
Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium (74,860), Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Arena (71,000), Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field (69,879), Miami's Hard Rock Stadium (64,760) and Orlando's Camping World Stadium (60,219) are the other major stadiums on the east coast, while the western Pacific region will see Los Angeles' Rose Bowl (89,702) and Seattle's Lumen Field (68,740) also host games.
There will also be four lower-capacity stadiums used - Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando (25,500), Geodis Park in Nashville (30,109), TQL Stadium in Cincinnati (26,000) and Audi Field in Washington DC (20,000).
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at an event confirming the venues: ""Football is the most popular sport on the planet, and in 2025 a new era for club football will kick off when FIFA stages the greatest, most inclusive and merit-based global club competition right here in the United States.
"The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will feature 12 fantastic stadiums where a new chapter in football's global history will be written by great players from the 32 best clubs in the world."
The draw for the group stage will take place in December.
