FIFA Club World Cup to kickoff on December 11

The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup is set to begin on December 11, Bureau of the FIFA Council has announced on Friday.

Among the eight participating teams, three have already been confirmed: Mexico's CF Monterrey (winner of the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League), New Caledonia's Hienghène Sport (winner of the 2019 OFC Champions League) and England's Liverpool FC (winner of the 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League).

The participants from CAF, AFC and CONMEBOL will be known in the coming months.

The club representing host Qatar will depend on the outcome of the ongoing AFC Champions League. If a team from the host country is the AFC champion, it will qualify directly for the second round, with the AFC runner-up playing the opening match against Hienghene Sport. If not, Al Sadd SC, the Qatar Stars League title holder, will play Hienghene Sport.

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The winner of the first-round match and the representatives of the AFC, CAF and Concacaf, drawn in no particular order as teams A, B, C and D, will contest the second round.

The draw for the tournament to determine the pairings for the second-round matches and the semifinals will be done in Zurich on September 16.

The second‑round winners will face the UEFA or CONMEBOL representatives in the semifinals, with the respective pairings having been previously defined by the draw.

The kick-off timings and venues will be announced in due course. The final will be played on December 21.