FIFA appoints Qatar to host two Club World Cup before 2022

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Qatar will host the final two of the old-style seven-team Club World Cup tournaments before the competition is expanded to 24 teams from 2021, global soccer body FIFA said on Monday.

FIFA has confirmed that Qatar would stage the event in 2019 and 2020 when it would also serve as a test for the World Cup which the Gulf state will host in 2022.

The decision comes two weeks after FIFA settled on 32 countries for the 2022 World Cup rather than expanding to 48 teams.

The competition currently features the club champions of the six continental federations plus a team from the host nation since it was first staged in its current form in 2005.

Liverpool's team bus travels past fans during the parade after claiming Champions League title in Liverpool, UK, June 2, 2019. /VCG Photo

Champions League winners Liverpool are set to be among the sides playing later this year.

From 2021 onward, FIFA will hold the competition on a four-yearly basis with 24 teams and wants to include at least eight from Europe.

However, this has been opposed by the European Club Association (ECA) which wrote to FIFA president Gianni Infantino in March to say that its members would not take part because there is no space in the international calendar.

The ECA has 232 members, including all of Europe's biggest clubs.

FIFA said it would approach potential hosts for the expanded edition of the club tournament before making a recommendation at the next council meeting in Shanghai in October.

Source(s): Reuters