African Clubs Participating in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup brings football’s powerhouses to the United States, and African teams are primed to flourish and become richer no matter how far they go in the tournament.

The expanded 32-team tournament, which kicks off on June 14th and runs until July 13th, features four African teams: Al Ahly, Wydad AC, Espérance de Tunis, and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Let’s quickly look at the draws, fixtures and expectations for African representatives.

Which African Clubs Qualified?

So, four CAF giants sealed their spots in the FIFA Club World Cup, and why were they the chosen ones?

• Al Ahly (Egypt): Arguably the most decorated club in Africa, winning several trophies around the continent. They hold the most CAF Champions League trophies with a record of 12.
• Wydad AC (Morocco): They are the 2022 CAF Champions League winners and are ranked high enough to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup
• Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia): Qualified based on CAF rating and Champions League exploits. Over the last four years, they have performed excellently well in African competitions, enabling their qualification.
• Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa): Their consistent performance in the CAF Champions League from 2022 to 2024, reaching two quarterfinals and two semifinals, secured their spot. Even though they excelled in 2025 by reaching the finals, Pyramids FC ultimately defeated them.

Draw & Group Stage

African clubs are set to face formidable groups in the FIFA World Cup. Ah Ahly are drawn into one of the tournament’s most high-profile groups, including Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami (USA), which features other football legends like Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Other teams in Group A include Brazil’s Palmeiras and FC Porto of Portugal.

Espérance de Tunis’ Group D promises a fierce competition as they will be going up against England’s Chelsea. Other teams in the group are Brazil’s Flamengo and the United States’ LAFC.

Mamelodi Sundowns is placed in Group F and will be going against Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Fluminense (Brazil), and Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea).

Finally, Wydad AC found themselves in Group G and are set to face Pep Guardiola’s high-profile England side, Manchester City, alongside Juventus (Italy) and Al Ain (United Arab Emirates).

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the round of 16.

Fixture Schedule

All African countries will play their first group matches between June 14 and 16, with group stages continuing to June 25 (Espérance) and June 26 (Sundowns). The knockout stage will conclude on July 13 with the final at MetLife Stadium in New York.

What This Means for the Qualified African Teams

As earlier stated in this piece, regardless of their performance in the 32-team competition, the four African qualifiers for the revamped Club World Cup in the United States will be significantly richer. Let me explain how.

Al Ahly of Egypt, Esperance of Tunisia, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco have all secured spots and will get appearance fees of $9.55 million (€8.4 million), according to reports.

A top-two finish and knockout phase qualification will earn $7.5 million, and a win in the group stage will add $2 million, and a draw will earn $1 million.

For participating in 14 or 16 games, the winners of the CAF Champions League, the biggest African competition, get $4 million, according to TRT Global. In the Club World Cup, no team will participate in more than seven games.

Also, remember that when the Club World Cup was an annual competition between seven clubs, all four African clubs participated.