The Sounders will travel to Morocco for the FIFA men’s Club World Cup. Soccer’s governing body confirmed the destination Friday via its Twitter account.
The seven-team, knockout style tournament will run Feb. 1-11. More details haven’t been released, including who will represent the Asia Football Confederation, which scheduled its two-legged final for Feb. 19 and 26.
Seattle advanced by winning the CONCACAF Champions League title last spring. Spain’s Real Madrid, a four-time Club World Cup champion, will represent Europe’s Union of European Football Associations (UEFA); Brazil’s Flamengo won the Copa Libertadores for the Conmebol berth; New Zealand’s Auckland City won the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Champions League and Morocco’s Wydad AC advanced by winning the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) title.
The host country earns an automatic berth to comprise the seventh Club World Cup team. Since Wydad qualified, CAF’s second-place team, Egypt’s Al Ahly SC will fill that spot.
In the past, FIFA designed the tournament where the OFC titlist played the host nation in the opening round. That winner joined the second round — a quarterfinal that this season would include the Sounders, Wydad, and the AFC champion. The UEFA and Conmebol champions earned automatic berths to the semifinals in previous versions of the Club World Cup.
There are also matches for third-place (semifinal losers) and fifth-place (losers of second-round games), guaranteeing clubs a minimum of two games, if the format remains the same.
The FIFA Council made Friday’s decision amid Morocco’s historic run at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. Morocco is the first African national team to advance to the tournament’s semifinal round. The Atlas Lions lost Wednesday to defending champion France before 68,294 people at Al Bayt Stadium — majority draped in Morocco’s red and green colors.
Morocco will play Croatia in a third-place match on Saturday at 7 a.m. PT on Fox/Telemundo. France and Argentina will vie for the title Sunday, which is also at 7 a.m. on Fox/Telemundo.
Qatar is the first Arab country to host the World Cup, but this is Morocco’s third run as the Club World Cup site. It was there in 2013 and 2014, crowning Real Madrid in the latter event.
February’s festivities could be the last as an elite tournament. FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced Thursday plans to balloon the Club World Cup to 32 teams in 2025. But he hasn’t formally presented the proposal to the six confederations.
“We had agreed a few years ago to have a new 24-team men’s Club World Cup,” Infantino told media, adding that there are plans for a FIFA women’s Club World Cup, too. “It should have taken place in 2021 but was postponed because of COVID. The new competition will take place in 2025 and will feature 32 teams, making it really like a World Cup.”
The Sounders open training camp Jan. 4 and could have the same starting lineup for the Club World Cup as it did to win the CCL final against Liga MX’s Pumas UNAM in May 2022. All of the players are under contract, but midfielder Joao Paulo tore his ACL during the match and subbed off in the 29th minute.
The Brazilian was upgraded to on-field rehab work by the end of the MLS season in October. The goal, however, is to be fully healthy for a packed calendar year of matches, not one tournament.
MLS is slated to open its 2023 season Feb. 25 and crown its champion in December. There will be a monthlong break (July 21 to August 19) for the new 47-team Leagues Cup between Liga MX and MLS clubs. The Sounders will also play at least one U.S. Open Cup match.
This story will be updated.