FIFAhas approved plans for an expanded Club World Cup in 2025, withChelseaandReal Madridhanded automatic qualification spots.

The current format of the tournament involves seven teams competing for the title, but FIFA presidentGianni Infantino revealed plans in December for an expanded 32-team tournament from June 2025andFIFA approved the proposal at its council meeting in Rwanda on Tuesday.

The new format of the tournament will consist of eight groups of four, with the top two teams of each group going through to a knockout round.

As the last two winners of theChampions League, Chelsea, and Real Madrid will be guaranteed a spot in the tournament and two more spots will be issued to the 2023 and 2024 Champions League winners.

As the Copa Libertadores is currently due to be held in November, South American clubs would not have finished their qualification tournaments in time to qualify for the new Club World Cup that year.

The new 32-team tournament is scheduled for 2025 and then 2029, but the current seven-team format will continue in its current December slot in 2024 and in the years between the bumper version. That smaller tournament will run under a new name.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of theWorld Cupfinal in December, Infantino said the expanded tournament would be like a World Cup.

The international match calendar will be altered from 2025, with one extended break taking in four matches in late September and early October replacing two separate windows in September and October.

The governing body said that the other windows in November, March and June would remain unchanged.

Since taking over from Sepp Blatter in 2016, Infantino has sought to expand the Club World Cup and add to the pool of teams.

Speaking in 2016, he said: Today football is not just about Europe and South America. The world has changed and thats why we need to make the Club World Cup more interesting for teams, and also for fans around the world.

Real Madrid are the current holders of the Club World Cup after defeatingSaudi Arabias Al Hilal last month to win the trophy for a record fifth time.

The FIFA Club World Cup: Infantinos proposed changes

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Based in North West England, Matt Slater is a senior football news reporter for The Athletic UK. Before that, he spent 16 years with the BBC and then three years as chief sports reporter for the UK/Irelands main news agency, PA.Follow Matt on Twitter@mjshrimper