Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham set for FIFA Club World Cup shakeup amid £2.5bn transfer windfalls

Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are all set to be affected by the newly-announced revamp of FIFA's Club World Cup which will see 32 teams compete over a month-long tournament in the summer of 2025.

It's believed that FIFA has set aside Sunday, June 15 until Sunday, July 13 for the inaugural edition of the new-look tournament which is set to take place in the United States. The 29-day period has already sparked concerns amongst supporters and clubs however given that it means it will finish just four weeks before the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Many fear that it'll mean certain players, who are already under extreme workloads from domestic and continental tournaments as well as international duty, could now be required to play in more than 80 matches per season. To address concerns about player welfare, it's understood that teams will be handed three-day rest periods between matches in order to alleviate any worries about fitness ahead of the new seasons but reports suggest the global players' union FIFPRO has already told football's governing body that footballers need a mandatory 28-day off-season break.

It remains unclear whether the Premier League would then have to move the start of the season to the beginning of September, but given that players are set to go away on international duty for the 2026 World Cup at the end of May, it could mean an even more heavily-packed schedule for clubs and players.

In a statement released last year, FIFPro highlighted the continual growth and creation of new tournaments as a danger to player health and safety, saying: «FIFPro took note with surprise of today's decisions by the FIFA Council concerning the international match calendars for men's and women's football that