Morocco to host Club World Cup

Although many details are yet to be revealed, you can start thinking about plans to travel to the men’s Club World Cup. On Friday, FIFA revealed that Morocco has been selected to host what could be the final CWC under the current format.

That announcement means that 2nd place CAF Champions League finishers Al Ahly (Egypt) will return to Morocco, where they lost the final to Wydad AC.

Running from February 1 to February 11, the mini-tournament ensures all but one team at least two games. The first round will be between the Oceana winners and Al Ahly. That winner will advance to the second round with the Seattle Sounders, Wydad, and the AFC Champions League selection. The AFC western region still has not played their knockout matches, with the Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan) having waited since August for their opponent. The AFC CL ‘22 final is scheduled after the Club World Cup.

Seattle’s preseason camp opens on January 4th. They’ll have little time to prepare for the needed fitness against the world’s best clubs. Morocco in February typically has temperatures peaking in the upper 60s and low 70s, which will be similar to the preseason camps that the Sounders have traveled to in Florida, Southern California and Arizona.

This will be the third time that Morocco hosts the tournament. In 2013 Bayern Munich beat Raja Casablanca in the final. In 2014 Real Madrid defeated San Lorenzo.

Previous host stadiums have been Stade de Marrakech (in Marrakesh), Stade Adrar (in Agadir), Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium (in Rabat) and again in Stade de Marrakech. More recently, Morocco hosted the 2022 Women’s AFCON, with games in Rabat (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium) and Casablanca (Stade Mohammed V), and the 2021/22 men’s CAF Champions League final in Stade Mohammed V.

Most Moroccan stadiums are the classic low-angle bowl with running track. Stade Mohammed V holds 67,000 and Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium holds 53,000. These are probably going to be the sites for the CWC.

FIFA also announced that the men’s Club World Cup will be shifting to a massive 32-team event starting in June 2025 and a women’s Club World Cup will be created as well, without a format or date announced.