In the footballing sphere, the peculiar scenario unfolds as two distinct world championship titles are bestowed upon clubs in the year 2025.
Winning Two World Titles in a Single Year: A Tantalizing But Unlikely Scenario
Here's an intriguingpredicament that'ssetting the pulse of soccer fans racing - could we witness two different teams, both reigning world champions, in the same year? This nail-biting situation could unfold on December 17, 2025, with the final of the Intercontinental Cup. Alongside this competition, which has been around since 1960, we have the FIFA Club World Cup, a relatively newer addition, featuring 32 teams.
First, let's shed some light on the FIFA Club World Cup, the cherry on top of this year's season finale. For its first expanded edition in 2025, it will gather 32 clubs hailing from every corner of the globe, earning their spots as continental champions or through impressive performances in recent Champions League editions, much like Paris Saint-Germain. Inspired by the thirty-two-team World Cup, it boasts a group stage followed by a knockout phase.
The grand victor of this final will be crowned FIFA Club World Cup champion and will flaunt a badge on their jersey for the following four seasons. This new competition will take place once every four years, emulating the classic World Cup for national teams.
The Intercontinental Cup and the Annual Champion
Another FIFA competition will bestow a world champion title on the season's end winner: the Intercontinental Cup. Born in 1960, this tournament traditionally pitted the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores, its South American counterpart. In 2005, it was rechristened "FIFA Club World Cup" and adopted a new format, where champions from the six FIFA-affiliated confederations (Oceania, Asia, Africa, South America, North America, and Europe) compete.
Although the format has seen an overhaul in 2025, FIFA has opted to maintain the Intercontinental Cup, which retakes its original name and will continue to be played annually between September and mid-December. FIFA emphasizes that the final will serve as "the world champion for each calendar year".
This competition features a more compact format, consisting of just five matches and progressive entry for participants based on their confederation (six teams start with three rounds and a final). As the winner of the UEFA Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain is directly qualified for the final, scheduled for December 17, 2025. The Parisians will attempt to follow in the footsteps of another European club, the reigning champion Real Madrid, who easily defeated Mexican club Pachuca in the final (3-0) in December 2024.
Two clubs could potentially claim both world champion titles in 2025 within a few months: Paris Saint-Germain and Auckland City, the four-time defending champion of the OFC Champions League. The New Zealand team will face off against Egyptian club Pyramids FC, winners of the CAF Champions League, in the first round. They could be joined by Botafogo, Flamengo, or River Plate if any of them wins the 2025 Copa Libertadores, as they are already part of the Club World Cup.
The Unfathomable but Possible Scenario
Despite the intriguing prospect of a single team winning both titles, it remains a theoretical yet improbable scenario. To win both competitions in the same year, one club would have to win the expanded FIFA Club World Cup (scheduled for June–July 2025) and then triumph in the Intercontinental Cup. However, this would require the club to be eligible and selected for the Intercontinental Cup, assuming that it takes place after the expanded event.
There are several obstacles preventing this from becoming a reality:
- Clash of European Giants: The expanded Club World Cup is likely to feature an array of top European clubs. However, the winner of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League might already have secured their spot in the expanded event, making it unlikely for another European team to win both titles in the same year.
- FIFA's Scheduling Conundrum: If the Intercontinental Cup is reserved for the UEFA Champions League winner versus the best of other confederations, and that same team is also in the expanded Club World Cup, it would still be possible for them to win both. However, if the expanded event is already considered the world's premier club competition, the rationale for holding the Intercontinental Cup in the same year might be questioned, and FIFA's scheduling or qualification rules might be adjusted to prevent this overlap.
Paris Saint-Germain, the current UEFA Champions League holders, are poised to participate in two world-class competitions concurrently in 2025. They are eligible for the Intercontinental Cup, scheduled for December, as the winner of the UEFA Champions League, and might also compete in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, featuring European leagues, premier-league clubs, and teams from around the globe, if FIFA does not adjust its scheduling or qualification rules to prevent clubs from winning both titles in the same year. However, even if these circumstances align, the European Union's top teams, such as Paris Saint-Germain, might face a challenging clash with other European giants in the expanded Club World Cup, making it an improbable scenario for a single team to secure both the FIFA Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup titles in 2025.
