Just weeks ago, the curtain fell on the club football season for much of the world. Instead of the usual two-month summer break, however, some of the best clubs in the world are preparing to compete in FIFA’s new Club World Cup, staged to mark one year until the 2026 North American FIFA World Cup.

Organizing a rehearsal tournament is not new. Starting in 1992, this took the form of the FIFA Confederations Cup, which brought together the champions of each continent. It was quietly shelved after the 2017 edition ahead of Russia 2018. In 2021, FIFA replaced it with the Arab Cup, an appeal to regional sentiment that resonated strongly in the Arab world, even if it registered little global buzz.

This year, FIFA has opted to break with tradition. Instead of sticking to international football, it’s dipping its toes into the club football pool. This expanded, summer version of the Club World Cup signals a strategic pivot and a quiet power play in the ongoing tug-of-war between football’s foremost governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA.

In The Ringer, Dr. Stefan Szymanski, professor of sport management at the University of Michigan and co-author of Soccernomics explains this dynamic. “You’re seeing a fight going on between UEFA and FIFA about who controls the revenues from the big games. UEFA is a minority within FIFA, but it has most of the money. FIFA hates this. Infantino is a mini-Trump—he wants to rule the world. Anything he can do to undermine the Champions League and replace it with a FIFA product is something he’s going to do.”

It was predictable that the European reaction to the Club World Cup would be negative. Jamie Carragher, who earlier in the year claimed that the Africa Cup of Nations isn’t a major tournament, said there would be “no appetite” for the tournament from players, clubs, and supporters. Tottenham’s Danish coach, Thomas Frank, called the tournament “ridiculous” due to the oversaturation of the football calendar.

In October 2024, FIFPRO, a representative body that advocates for the rights and interests of professional footballers, filed a complaint to the European Commission over “FIFA’s imposition of the international match calendar.”

“FIFA’s decisions on the match calendar in recent years have repeatedly favored its own competitions and commercial interests and neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, including its responsibility to protect players and their wellbeing,” explained David Terrier, the president of FIFPRO Europe.

While FIFPRO makes valid points about the exploitation of players, their attack on FIFA is somewhat one-sided, considering how the very same players’ clubs push the commercial envelope to the limit.

For instance, complaints about player fatigue lose credibility when clubs like Manchester United, for example, wrap up their Premier League campaign against Aston Villa on May 25, 2025, and are on a long-haul flight to Malaysia to begin a Southeast Asia tour the very next morning. Just three days separated the 38th matchday of the Premier League season and kick-off for Manchester United vs ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur. It was an exhausting turnaround that drew sharp criticism from fans and pundits alike.

Amid this high-stakes tug-of-war between clubs and competing governing bodies, African football finds itself caught in the crossfire.

With 54 member votes, Africa is FIFA’s largest regional bloc, and African football associations have consistently offered blind support to FIFA initiatives. It is simultaneously powerful (due to its traditionally unified voting bloc) and easily swayed due to chronic underfunding and weak governance structures. FIFA, understanding this influence, has not hesitated to enforce compliance through sanctions, while simultaneously rewarding loyalty via financial initiatives like the FIFA Forward program.

UEFA, for its part, has long looked down on CAF, with its leagues treating the Africa Cup of Nations as a scheduling nuisance and viewing the continent less as a footballing peer than as a talent pipeline to supply its elite clubs and competitions.

At the club level, African teams remain eager participants in FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup. Historically, South American, Asian, and African clubs have taken this tournament far more seriously than their European counterparts. Financially, participation comes with a minimum payout of $9.5 million, a sum that nearly matches the annual operating budget of top clubs like Esperance de Tunis and Wydad Casablanca. Three weeks of action could double their yearly budget, and that’s without factoring in the long-term branding and exposure benefits of competing on a global stage.

Yet, despite the financial incentives, the unflinching loyalty of African clubs and federations to FIFA can be difficult for African fans to digest. Take the tournament format itself. FIFA has allocated 12 spots to European clubs, six to South American clubs, five to North American teams, and just four each to African and Asian sides. Based on recent Club World Cup performances, there is little competitive logic to justify inviting more North American than African or Asian representation.

Add to this the optics of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s admiration of US President Donald Trump, a man who infamously described African nations as “shithole countries” and implemented discriminatory travel bans targeting several African states.

Then there is Infantino’s track record of broken promises, which African fans are all too familiar with. Infamously, the FIFA president once championed the idea of an “African Super League.” Initially, he pledged that each participating club would receive $20 million, that the league would feature 24 teams, and that other revenue would be distributed to non-participating clubs through a solidarity fund. What materialized? A mini-tournament of eight clubs that fell far short of its ambitions and lasted just one year.

Despite all of that, there remains much anticipation within the African football family for the Club World Cup. Al Ahly (Egypt), Esperance (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), and Wydad (Morocco) will represent the continent. Club strategies have varied with the approach of the tournament. Al Ahly and Wydad have splurged on marquee signings this summer. Al Ahly brought in former Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro and Zamalek icon Ahmed Sayed “Zizo,” while Wydad added veteran Moroccan international Nordin Amrabat from Hull City and Burkinabe playmaker Stephane Aziz Ki from Tanzanian giants Young Africans.

By contrast, Mamelodi Sundowns and Esperance opted for continuity. Sundowns, with a vast squad already, could not find room to add to their first-team squad and left first-team players at home. Esperance, however, may have missed an opportunity to plug holes they have in defense, much to the frustration of their demanding supporters.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot of optimism among African football supporters that at least a couple of clubs can advance past the group stages and change some of the preconceived notions that exist about club football on the continent.

That’s the real value of this tournament for African football. Sure, money matters. But for African clubs, the real prize is the platform. The chance to remind the world what our continent does best: play with personality on the pitch, and create the most electric atmospheres anywhere in the stands. It’s a rare shot at rewriting tired narratives and forcing global football to take African club football a little more seriously.