Host cities now known for 2021 Club World Cup

We now know the host cities of the next Club World Cup, the first edition to have 24 teams. From 2021, it will take place every 4 years.

The cities to host the matches that will take place between 17th June and 4th July are Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shenyang, Ji'nan, Hangzhou and Dalian.

Although there was speculation that the Club World Cup would take place in Argentina, on 24th October China was announced as host.

Real Madrid, Atlético, Liverpool and Chelsea have already assured their spot at the tournament as they were the winners of the Champions League and Europa League in the last 2 seasons.

Their opponents will be the winners of the competitions the next 2 seasons. If any of the named teams win them again, the remaining places will be chosen by the UEFA Club coefficients.

Independiente del Valle and Flamengo have also qualified by winning the Copa de Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. 8 clubs from Europe, 6 from South America, 3 from CONCACAF, 3 from Asia, 3 from Africa and 1 from Oceania will take part in the competition.

In groups of 3, the winners of the Champions and Europa League from the past 4 years will play the rest of the teams. The group winners will progress to the quarter-finals.

If one of the qualified teams wins the competition again, the coefficients of each confederation will be used to decide the team that enters.

The new format of the Club World Cup will multiply teams' income, as 50 million euros just for taking part will be shared amongst them.

It is estimated that 75% of the money will be shared out among the 24 clubs, with the winner getting 115 million. The remaining 25% will be for the different confederations.