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Gianni Infantino has a favorite venue, and he’s not particularly interested in hearing alternatives. The FIFA president is actively pursuing a plan to award the 2029 Club World Cup to the United States, reportedly without putting the hosting rights through any formal competitive bidding process.
If that sounds familiar, it should. The 2025 Club World Cup, a 32-team tournament set to kick off in the US this summer, was handed to the country through the same route: a FIFA Council decision with no open tender.
## What’s actually being proposed here
The 2029 edition is shaping up to be significantly larger. Discussions have included an expanded format featuring 48 teams, which would make it roughly the size of a full men’s World Cup in terms of participating clubs.
Talks between Infantino and US officials are ongoing. The American side has shown interest, motivated in large part by the commercial infrastructure and relationships being built around the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico. No formal commitment has been made yet, because the final host selection isn’t expected until 2027, likely after the FIFA presidential election that year.
## The opposition is getting louder
Multiple FIFA member associations and confederations have pushed back on the approach, characterizing Infantino’s strategy as unilateral and favoring his political allies. The core objection isn’t necessarily to the US as a host, it’s to the process, or the lack of one.
Brazil has formally notified FIFA of its interest in hosting the 2029 edition. That matters because Brazil represents a genuinely competitive alternative: one of the sport’s most storied football nations, a massive domestic market, and a region, South America, that has watched two consecutive Club World Cups go to North America without so much as a public application process being opened.
Regional clubs outside Europe and North America have also expressed reluctance about the tournament continuing to be held in a single market.
## What this means for the tournament’s credibility and commercial future
The Club World Cup, in its expanded 32-team form, is FIFA’s most ambitious attempt to create a genuinely global club competition. Infantino has staked a significant part of his legacy on making it work.
European clubs, particularly the larger ones, have already had complex relationships with the expanded Club World Cup format, with discussions regarding the 2029 edition reportedly supported by major European clubs. Awarding two consecutive editions to the same country, without a transparent process, gives skeptical clubs another talking point when negotiating their participation terms.
Brazil as an alternative host would shift the tournament’s center of gravity in ways that matter commercially. South American broadcast rights, sponsorship markets, and fan engagement demographics are distinct from the US market, and a Brazilian edition would test whether the expanded Club World Cup can generate comparable revenue outside North America.
The decision is still two-plus years away, with a host expected to be selected in 2027. What’s clear is that Infantino’s preference is already set, Brazil’s opposition is formally on record, and no bidding process has been initiated.
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