The draw for the FIFA Club World Cup, which Qatar will host for the first time, will be held today at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The ceremony, which will be streamed live on FIFA.com and YouTube, will begin at 3pm Qatar time. The tournament will be played from December 11-21.
The draw will lay out the tournament and give a glimpse of the hurdles the top club sides from across the planet will have to overcome if they are to lift the trophy on December 21.
Former England striker Michael Owen will pick the names from the bowl. The former Liverpool and Real Madrid ace will pick the draws to determine the match-ups in what will be a knockout system.
Four participants have already been confirmed: CF Monterrey from Mexico (winners of the 2019 Concacaf Champions League), Hienghene Sport from New Caledonia (winners of the 2019 OFC Champions League), Liverpool from England (winners of the UEFA Champions League) and Al Sadd, the domestic champions from Qatar. CAF is due to confirm the African participant, while the representatives from CONMEBOL and the AFC will be known on November 23 and 24 respectively.
Al Sadd will be represented at the draw by first team manager Abdullah Breik, who left for Zurich yesterday. This will be Al Sadd’s second appearance in the tournament, after the bronze-medal winning display at the 2011 edition in Japan.
“There is so much excitement ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup this year – from Liverpool fans, of course, as they will be hoping that their team can win this coveted trophy for the first time,” said Owen, to Fifa.com.
“But the tournament in Qatar means a lot to the other teams as well – it is the global stage for club football, and it will also be the FIFA World Cup stage in three years’ time. Every single player will want to shine, and I’m delighted to be helping to draw the path to the final,” he added.
The stadiums hosting the tournament, as well as the kick-off times, will be announced in due course and followed by the relevant ticketing information on fifa.com/tickets.
Former England striker Michael Owen will pick draw of lots.
