This year’s Club World Cup, which features Chelsea, will be held in the United Arab Emirates in early 2022, FIFA has confirmed.
The annual tournament features the champions of the different continents along with the host nation’s national champions, with Chelsea qualifying as Champions League winners.
The games were due to be played in Japan, but they pulled out as hosts last month because of the high number of coronavirus cases in the country.
South Africa, Qatar and the UAE were quickly identified as possible new venues for the event, but South Africa announced a fortnight ago their own Covid-19 problems meant they had to withdraw.
Chelsea will face Egyptian side Al Ahly and New Zealand’s Auckland City, who are among the 10 teams who have qualified for the tournament.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, also announced during a FIFA Council meeting on Wednesday that a global summit would take place on December 20 with the aim of “presenting an agreed proposal” on football’s new men’s and women’s international calendar.
READ ALSOChukwueze scores on Champions League debut
The proposals have been met with opposition from European confederation UEFA, which has said it will stand against them “until common sense prevails and they are dropped”.
Infantino recognised there had been many critical comments about the plans, but also “enthusiastic and positive comments”.
