The International Football Federation, FIFA, has announced that the draw for the 2023 Club World Cup will take place on January 13, at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Sale, near Morocco’s capital Rabat.
The sporting event is set to take place in Morocco between February 1 and 11, FIFA revealed on December 16. The Moroccan cities of Rabat and Tangiers are scheduled to host the tournament’s matches, in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium and the Ibn Batouta Stadium respectively.
The upcoming Club World Cup will feature a total of seven teams, including the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host country’s league champions.
The participating teams include Spain’s Real Madrid, Brazil’s Flamengo, US’ Seattle Sounders, Egypt’s Al Ahly, New Zealand’s Auckland City, and Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, FIFA indicated.
Meanwhile, Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) will be representing host Morocco in the tournament. The team has produced a remarkable performance in the past couple of years, notably under the leadership of renowned coach Walid Regragui.
Regragui, who is currently the head coach of Morocco’s national football team, successfully led Wydad AC to claim their third CAF Champions League title last year after defeating Egypt’s Al Ahly 2-0.
In addition, the Casablanca-based club won its 22nd title of the Botola Pro 1, Morocco’s top-tier football league, in the 2021-22 season.
The fast-approaching Club World Cup was scheduled to take place in late 2022 but was postponed due to the Qatar World Cup, which took place in winter, unlike the tournament’s past editions.
This was not the first time that the tournament was postponed. The Club World Cup was set to take place in China in 2021 with a new 24-team format and be held every four years, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino last month announced plans to launch an expanded 32-club version of the Club World Club that will take place every four years, starting from 2025.
