The FIFA Club World Cup is entering a new era with the changed and expanded format, designed to mimic that of a major national team competition. That also means there will be many more opportunities for FIFA Club World Cup betting than ever before, which is something punters are looking forward to this summer.
How the FIFA Club World Cup Works
The first edition of what is today known as the Club World Cup was held in 2000, but it wasn’t a regular yearly competition until 2005 because of scheduling issues. When the format was shortened to only six teams, the champions from each continent, the tournament became easier to organise.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be the first to be played in the new 32-club format. Previous editions were played in December and featured only knockout rounds. The winners of the Champions League and CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores joined in the semi-finals.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup replaced the Club World Cup as we knew it and is now played in the December window. The new FIFA Club World Cup will be played every four years, in the years before the FIFA World Cup.
The expanded format features a round-robin system with eight groups of four clubs, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knockout round. Here’s how the 32 spots are allocated:
- Host nation: 1 spot
- UEFA: 12 spots
- CONMEBOL: 6 spots
- AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF: 2 spots each
- Oceania: 1 spot
The difference between this system and what we saw in the FIFA World Cup between the 1998 and 2022 editions is that there will also be a third-place match.
Why Is Club World Cup Betting So Popular
Since the 2025 edition will be the first played in the expanded format, which features more than 60 matches, it is no wonder that interest in FIFA Club World Cup betting has spiked. The outright Club World Cup betting odds for the tournament winner are available with many bookmakers, and so are the ones for the first group-phase matches.
Many clubs that bettors typically enjoy betting on are taking part in the competition, thus extending the season and providing more exciting opportunities for punters to try their luck.
FIFA Club World Cup betting sites offer all the markets and promotions that bettors are used to for the most significant football events in the world, and we expect even more of those once the competition kicks off.
How We Chose the Best FIFA Club World Cup Betting Sites
It’s not easy to say what the best FIFA Club World Cup betting sites are, because the competition has changed this year, and we don’t have full insights just yet. Here are the things we will pay attention to when rating the best Club World Cup betting sites:
Free Bets, Bonuses and Other Welcome Promotions
Welcome bonuses are a significant part of the betting experience with a new bookmaker, and the best option is when you can choose between a free bet offer and a deposit match bonus.
During the FIFA Club World Cup, we expect that you can use the bonus funds you get when you sign up with a new sportsbook to actually do the Club World Cup betting. Some bookmakers will even offer promotions exclusively for this tournament.
Even though the rule with these FIFA Club World Cup betting offers, just like with other bonuses, is that more is better, we advise you to look into the terms and conditions to ensure that you meet the bonus terms with a qualifying deposit and bet, and that you are comfortable with the wagering requirements.
Security, Trustworthiness and Customer Support
These are the factors we look into regardless of the competitions the bookmaker offers for betting. To remain compliant, bookmakers implement the necessary security measures, but also to ensure their customers’ information is safe.
Customer support should be available 24/7 and readily accessible to assist with any issues you may encounter.
Payment Methods for Club World Cup Betting
With so many payment options available to users nowadays, bookmakers should try their best to offer as many as possible to their customers. Of course, they are sometimes limited by the regulations, but they can still provide bettors with a choice.
We appreciate it when we see a sportsbook offering both standard options, such as bank cards and more modern solutions, such as e-wallets and other digital payment options. It’s also a significant advantage when bookmakers accept cryptocurrencies in the permitted jurisdictions.
FIFA Club World Cup Betting Tips
Providing FIFA Club World Cup betting tips is somewhat challenging, as this is a new format of the competition, and we cannot predict how the clubs will approach it. They might use it as an opportunity to introduce new players who arrived at the beginning of the transfer window, or perhaps to give younger players more time on the pitch.
Whatever their approach, there are some big names in the competition, and if you have your favourites at this point, consider your options for FIFA Club World Cup outright betting for a chance to snatch some good odds when predicting the winner.
At the moment of writing this text, Real Madrid had the best odds of winning the trophy at odds of 5.00, closely followed by PSG and Manchester City at around 6.00.
While European clubs are considered the biggest favourites for both winning the trophy and their individual matches, others shouldn’t be underestimated because we don’t expect them to lack motivation against favourites.
FIFA Club World Cup Betting Markets
When betting on sports competitions, you should know what markets are the most popular for the given sport and the type of tournament you are looking to wager on. The FIFA Club World Cup has a similar format and popular betting markets to the World Cup.
Here are some of the most popular options to wager on for Club World Cup football betting:
- Outrights: Apart from the outright winner, you can also bet on the individual group winners, the tournament top scorer, the highest scoring team, who will reach the final stages, and many more markets.
- Winner market: This refers to the individual match winner market, also known as the 1X2 market in football, because football matches can also end in a draw.
- Over/under: If you are more comfortable with predicting the number of goals you expect to be scored in a match, you can do that by selecting the over/under market and the number of goals as a threshold. You can find some attractive FIFA Club World Cup betting odds when betting on this market.
- Both Teams to Score (BTTS): If you are sure that both teams possess enough quality to score at least once during the 90 minutes, then this is your market. The odds might not be all that attractive, but they can still be quite good.
- Handicap markets: When there is a favourite in the match, the other team will be given a head start to level the playing field a bit. That could be a one, two, or three-goal advantage, for example.
If you are confident that a player will score a goal in a match, you can wager on the anytime goalscorer market as well.
Key Dates and Major Events in the Club World Cup
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be played in the US, and it starts on 14 June with the match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami CF. This may be different for you, depending on where you live, because of the time difference with the US.
If you were betting on Copa America in 2024, then you are aware of the time difference and when to check the odds, especially if you enjoy watching the matches live and betting in-play.
The knockout phase of the tournament begins on 28 June, with the Round of 16. Quarter-finals are then played on 4 and 5 July, and semi-finals on 8 and 9 July.
After that, we will know the finalists, and then you can do the FIFA Club World Cup final betting and wager on the ultimate tournament winner. If you bet on the winner outright before the tournament started or in the early stages, you could compare the odds at this point to track the changes.
