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Joshua Kimmich and colleagues face a summer without a break

Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa

The FC Bayern Munich players are in for another exhausting summer of football in 2025. As FIFA announced after the meeting of its council in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the German record champions have already qualified for the premiere of the new Club World Cup. The tournament is scheduled to be played in the United States from June 15 to July 13, with 63 games in total and seven games for the finalists.

Twelve of the 32 teams from Europe will take part in the new format. In addition to Bayern, the Champions League winners from 2021 to 2023, FC Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City, have already qualified. The winner of the current season in the premier class is also sure to be there.

A summer full of appointments

Due to their excellent results in the most important European Cup in recent years, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, FC Porto and Benfica Lisbon have secured the right to start in addition to the Munich team. Three other European teams can still qualify.

The football summer of 2025 will therefore be particularly intense for the national players. After the Bundesliga final (17 May), the cup final (24 May) and the Champions League final in Munich on 31 May, there is still an international window with possible World Cup qualifiers or the Nations League final between 2 and 10 June, before the Club World Cup begins in the USA five days later.

Tournament extends into the Women's European Championship

Discussions about the workload of the top players are programmed. The summer break before the World Cup season is shortened to around a month for the best clubs before the following World Cup season. However, the top clubs have agreed to the new format and are involved in the marketing through their association, the European Club Association (ECA).

In another new competition, the annual Champions League winner from Europe will play against the winner of a qualifying tournament of the other continental champions. For the first time, the final of this Intercontinental Cup will take place on 18 December 2024.

The footballers who will host the European Championship in Switzerland in the summer of 2025 will be annoyed: the Club World Cup will extend eleven days into their tournament. Otherwise, FIFA attaches great importance to ensuring that its competitions are protected in time.

mfu/dpa