October 23, (THEWILL) – UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea will travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early next year to compete in the Club World Cup, which has been postponed by a few months due to Japan’s decision to pull out of hosting the tournament.
On Wednesday, world football governing body (FIFA) announced that the UAE would host the tournament, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason for Japan’s withdrawal, as THEWILL reported.
Teams from every FIFA confederation that won their respective continental trophy compete in the Club World Cup. Chelsea qualified for the tournament by defeating Manchester City in the Champions League final in May.
The Blues are no strangers to competition this season, as they have always known it was on the way – they just did not know when. Technically, they still do not exactly know, with FIFA stating that it will take place “early 2022.”
It could be in January, February, or March, which are all busy times in the football calendar, but February appears to have the best chance of being a bit quieter, though that would mean rescheduling a potential Champions League last 16 tie for the middle two weeks of the month.
Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has expressed his displeasure with the amount of football his players have already played this season, which has already included two international breaks, eight Premier League games, three Champions League games, and a Carabao Cup tie.
Asked about the possibility of even more fixture congestion as a result of the Club World Cup shifted to next year, Tuchel expressed his displeasure with the existing tight football schedule while insisting that it was a trophy he and his players would go all out to claim.
“I don’t know if it’s in January or February. It’s too far ahead. I plan for two, three, four weeks but we know we play in this competition and we would love to win it. Make no mistake we absolutely want to win the competition,” Tuchel said.
“Am I right in thinking they want to make this competition even bigger and play it with 24 teams or something. I have no idea (how that fits in) and, in my experience, no-one asks the coaches or explains to the coaches. We just handle the consequences when they decide to do so.
“I was never asked if I’d like a Club World Cup with 24 teams, never. I know that maybe in Europe this title has not the highest priority but we should be humble enough to accept that in other parts of the world they play high level football.
“They have Champions Leagues in Asia and South America producing the highest levels of football and to have a competition like this makes absolute sense if you are FIFA.
“But it needs to fit in the calendar. In the past, Liverpool lost a cup game because they were playing in Qatar. Then it gets a bit ridiculous and does not make sense from a sporting point of view.
“Then I allow myself to be critical because this game is about the players. If you want to see the best game, and see the best players playing the best game and not being injured or tired or sitting on the plane travelling around for almost half a year it’s as simple as that.
“We want to win titles and we want to win this competition. It has a lot of tradition and a lot of prestige and we feel blessed to play it because you can only play it if you win the European Champions League.”
Chelsea’s December is already shaping up to be a busy month with two of their games rescheduled on Thursday due to the Club World Cup. The Blues begin with a trip to Watford on December 1, followed by a London derby away at West Ham three days later. Then, there is a Champions League away match at Zenit.
They welcome Leeds United to Stamford Bridge on December 11 before hosting Everton on December 16. The game against the Wolves has been rescheduled for December 19.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
