Libertadores has extra incentive for four Brazilians – 04/02/2024 – The World Is a Ball

It’s not a subject that is talked about often, at least for now, so it’s possible that some readers don’t know that from 2025 onwards the Club World Cup will have a new format.

It will be the first time that FIFA will organize a World Cup with 32 clubs, in the same model as the World Cup of national teams until 2022 – from 2026 it will expand, going to 48 countries.

This first edition of the Club Cup will be historic, precisely because it is the inaugural one. Each and every team desires to participate in it – if they don’t have that desire, something is very wrong.

Because, as a winner, he will be able to boast until the end of time, gloriously announcing to his fans and rival fans: “First champion of the World Super Cup”.

I believe that, popularly, this (World Super Cup, or Club Super Cup) will become known as the championship. Everyone, from the media to the fans, loves the superlative “super.”

The official name, at least for now, is the FIFA Club World Cup, taking place every four years – the second will be in 2029.

The first Club Super Cup will be hosted by the USA. It will start on June 15th and end on July 13th next year.

21 clubs have already been classified: 10 from Europe (out of a total of 12), 3 from South America (out of 6), 3 from Central and North America and the Caribbean (out of 4), 2 from Africa (out of 4), 2 from Asia (out of 4), 1 from Oceania (single vacancy) and 1 from the host country (single vacancy).

The criteria involve direct classification, by winning the respective continental competition (from 2021 to 2024), and a ranking of each confederation.

Thus, the following are already guaranteed in the Club Super Cup: Bayern, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Porto, PSG, Real Madrid (Uefa), Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras (Conmebol), Monterrey, León , Seattle (Concacaf), Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca (CAF), Al Hilal, Urawa Red Diamonds (AFC) and Auckland (OFC).

In this text I do not aim to analyze the possibilities of all continents, only the region in which Brazilians are located, that is, South America.

Fans of Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras can comfortably wait for 2025, as their favorite team is fully assured of the World Super Cup.

Why? Because winners of the three most recent Libertadores (Palmeiras in 2021, Flamengo in 2022, Fluminense in 2023).

What about the fans of other Brazilian teams? Which team still has a chance, and how can they be one of the 32 in the first edition?

Only those who are in this year’s Libertadores have a chance: Atlético-MG, Botafogo, Grêmio and São Paulo. And to be in the USA in 2025, one of them must necessarily win the South American interclub competition, whose group stage begins this Tuesday (2).

But how so? There are six vacancies for South America, and only three have been defined so far. And the other two, in addition to the 2024 Libertadores champion?

The other two are via the Conmebol ranking, the South American confederation. However, in this case, Brazilians do not compete.

Why? Because the Club Super Cup regulations determine the limit of two teams per country in the competition. The exception occurs when the team wins the main continental tournament – ​​in South America, the Libertadores.

This is the reason why Brazil was able to exceed the limit of two places, as it had three different Libertadores champions from 2021 to 2023.

In this way, Atletico players from Minas, Botafoguenses from Rio, Grêmio and São Paulo need to “give their lives” for this extra incentive: to put the team they defend in the first World Super Cup. To be among the 32 in 2025, they must surpass 31 during 2024.

Fans of rival clubs that are not in the current Libertadores (Cruzeiro, Internacional, Vasco and Corinthians, for example) can only hope against it.

Furthermore, there are regional opponents of two teams from the aforementioned court who will play for a double pleasure: winning the Libertadores, which in itself is a gigantic feat, and automatically leaving an arch-rival out of the Club Super Cup, without depending on third parties.

These are the cases of Flamengo and Fluminense, in RJ, frustrating Botafogo, and Palmeiras, in SP, blocking São Paulo.