FIFA has officially announced the location of the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup. The tournament was initially supposed to occur in Japan, but the country decided to pull out as host due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 Club World Cup will be played in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. However, a date is not yet set, but UOL Esporte speculates that the competition will probably occur in mid-February 2022.
FIFA received official proposals from other countries interested in hosting the tournament but went with the Middle Eastern country.
The teams to have qualified for the event are Chelsea FC for winning the UEFA Champions League, Auckland City from New Zealand, and Al-Ahly, from Egypt, current African continental champions.
Representatives from South America, Asia, Concacaf, and the host country will still be defined. Flamengo or Palmeiras will represent South America’s CONMEBOL region when the two clubs play in the Copa Libertadores final.
Meanwhile, C.F. Monterrey or Club America will serve as CONCACAF’s representative when the two play for the Champions League trophy.
Chelsea is the favorite to win the competition, but it will be interesting to see how Thomas Tuchel balances the tournament since it will take place at the back end of the Premier League season.
Furthermore, they’ll likely be in the knockout stages of the Champions League, so Tuchel will be doing a lot of shuffling with the competitions.
More must-reads: