A guide to the Club World Cup as Man City, Chelsea and Messi prepare for action

The Fifa Club World Cup, which involves Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea, begins this weekend.

Here, we examine the new-look 32-team tournament.

The Club World Cup is not a new concept but this is the first to be staged on a scale more akin to an international tournament. Previously a short annual event featuring each continent’s champions, the competition has been expanded hugely. It will now be played every four years and follow the format used from 1998-2022 by the traditional World Cup (without the third-place play-off). There are eight groups of four with the top two from each advancing to the last 16. The first game takes place on June 14th (the early hours of June 15th Irish time) with the final on July 13th.