This summer, Chelsea and Manchester City will compete in the newly expanded Club World Cup, but Liverpool will not be allowed to. Here’s why.
This summer, FIFA’s contentious 32-team Club World Cup competition will make its debut in the US, with clubs vying for up to £97 million in prize money.
Based on participation and performance, the £775 million prize fund will be distributed among the 32 teams; certain clubs will receive £29.6 million simply for participating.
Even though there is prize money available, Arne Slot is unlikely to be overly upset about missing out on it because it adds pointless games to an already demanding schedule for elite players.
Why Liverpool is not participating
The EPL champions are not participating in the competition because only two clubs per nation are permitted to do so, and Chelsea and Manchester City had already secured their spots.
They qualified automatically after winning the Champions League in the predetermined four-year cycle, beginning in 2020–2021, eliminating Liverpool even though UEFA ranked them higher than Chelsea.
Liverpool will have their next chance to participate in the competition in 2029, as it will be held every four years.
Even though the financial incentives are obvious, Liverpool might gain from a summer free from FIFA regulations as teams like City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG all demand more of their players.
Instead, it is expected that Slot’s team will return to Asia for the preseason this summer, with talks of friendlies in Hong Kong and Japan.