Brazil has confirmed its interest in hosting the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup following a FIFA summit held in Miami, Florida from June 19-21.
Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) President Samir Xaud held a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on June 20 during the summit where he expressed his interest in hosting the second edition of the newly revamped competition in Brazil.
According to the CBF, Infantino was “very welcoming to the idea” with Xaud pushing Brazil as one of the globe’s most recognised footballing nations and an ideal fit to host the 2029 Club World Cup.
Xaud also emphasised that hosting the competition would help the development of football throughout Brazil, with many Brazilian football clubs competing in the ongoing 2025 Club World Cup enjoying early success.
“It all started with a presentation conversation,” said Xaud. “I talked about my goals at the head of the CBF and said that we want to be closer to FIFA. I praised the event and the level of the Brazilian clubs and, finally, I made the country available to host the next Club World Cup.
“President Gianni Infantino was very happy, he said it is totally possible. Now we will work to make it work. It’s going to be a great goal.”
Club World Cup fever in Brazil
The current 2025 Club World Cup is the inaugural edition of its new format. The competition has expanded to include 32 teams from across six confederate continents, with four Brazilian clubs – Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras – competing.
All four clubs have enjoyed early success in the competition. Palmeiras finished as winners of group A and Botafogo finished runners-up in group B, both qualifying for the knockout stages. Flamengo and Fluminense are both poised to join them in the knockout phase as they both currently lead their respective groups with zero defeats.
The competition is also proving to be popular within Brazil amongst audiences too. SBC Noticias Brasil reported that Globo, holder of the domestic rights for the competition in Brazil, has already hit 75 million viewers for the group phase of the Club World Cup.
With Brazil hosting the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and having hosted the 2014 FIFA Men’s World Cup, the CBF believes it has the right infrastructure prepared to host the competition.
Who are the other 2029 bidders?
Brazil becomes the fifth country to express its interest in hosting the 2029 Club World Cup, joining Australia, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and New Zealand.
As early as June 2023, when the reformation of the Club World Cup had just been announced, Football Australia CEO James Johnson confirmed his interest in a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand as believed the competition would be a success.
So far, the 2025 edition in the US has been met with mixed reviews. There was concern the teams from Europe – which includes Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich – would not take the competition as seriously as the teams in South America and other continents.
This could bode well for Brazil’s 2029 bid as it has shown support for the competition from its teams and fans. Spain, Morocco and Portugal, the co-hosts of the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup, are also believed to be interested in hosting in 2029 as a precursor to the world cup.
