There are four clubs from Africa among the 32 teams that have qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup, which will kick off on June 15.
World football’s governing body FIFA are hoping the new-look Club World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States next month, will mark a new era for the game and develop a four-yearly competition that has as much relevance and reverence as the World Cup for national teams.
Africa will play a part in the new vision: there are four clubs from the continent among the 32 teams that have qualified for the tournament, which will kick off on June 15.
It includes Mamelodi Sundowns, who are through to this season’s African Champions League final later in May and will be hoping to make some impact on the new-look Club World Cup.
It is a momentous opportunity for a South African side, rubbing shoulders with the most successful club sides from across the globe over the last years.
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Egypt’s Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca from Morocco and Esperance of Tunisia are the other three African clubs who have qualified on the basis of their performances in the last four years of the African Champions League competition.
In their group, Sundowns have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund, who were runners-up in the UEFA Champions League last season; Rio de Janeiro giants Fluminense and Ulsan from South Korea.
It will be something of an upset if the Pretoria club progress past the first stage but even if they return home without a win, the tournament promises to be a massive learning curve and its financial spin off means Sundowns are set to continue their long-standing hegemony on the local scene.
They will reportedly receive a minimum of $9-million for participating in the tournament, with more money on offer for any victories they might achieve; $2 million is paid for winning group stage games, $7.5 million for playing in the round of 16 and $40 million to the team that wins the final at MetLife Stadium near New York on July 13.
FIFA aims to share $250 million among clubs worldwide who did not qualify for the tournament. But it is not yet clear how many clubs will be paid, or how much they will get.
The $1 billion Club World Cup prize pot is more than double the $440 million that FIFA shared among the 32 federations whose teams played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, further proof of their desire to make this new project work.
It is massive money for Sundowns to continue to buy the best players and extend their record-breaking run of championship success in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League.
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