Jan-Christian Dreesen on FC Bayern's participation in the 2025 Club World Cup

During the Trophy Tour for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Jan-Christian Dreesen spoke about this summer's big event. Read the most important statements from the FC Bayern CEO here.

FC Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen on...

...the Club World Cup trophy: "It's impressive. I think FIFA has put a lot of effort into the idea of this trophy. All member associations are immortalised on it. There's space for the winners for many, many decades. Of course, I hope that we will be the first ones on there."

...125 years of FC Bayern and the Club World Cup: "The fact that the FIFA Club World Cup is taking place in a new format in our anniversary year is a coincidence. It's always something special when a tournament that's never been played in this format takes place for the first time. All the players are keen on it. They don't just want to take part, they want to win! And all of this in our 125th anniversary year - that's really something special."

...the new format: "I've had the honour of experiencing the Club World Cup finals twice. That was always something special - but the sporting challenge of playing just one or two games to win the title was completely different to what it will be now. Now we can compete with the 32 best teams in the world - with top teams from every continent. It's something very special - and I think the trophy expresses just that."

...the logistical challenges: "Let's be clear: this is a real challenge for all of us! As a team, as a club, we've never spent five weeks straight at a tournament. We're lucky that we can stay on the east coast during the group stage. That means we'll be setting up base in Orlando, from where we'll hopefully be travelling to more than just three group games. From the semi-finals onwards, we'll then move again. The Club World Cup is above all a sporting competition for us. We want to progress as far as possible. It's not a pleasure trip, it's a real challenge."

...the stress: "The biggest challenge will be how we can give the players a bit of respite ahead of next season. How we can get our squad rested and fit again in time for the start of next season. We don't want to simply expand the squad for this purpose, because that would mean our young players would no longer get a chance to play. So it's important to make the most of the short time available."

...the financial aspects of the Club World Cup: "First and foremost, of course, it's a sporting challenge for us. If the only reason to take part were a financial one, then we shouldn't do it. First and foremost, the sporting objective must and should be the most important thing. But of course the Club World Cup is also financially attractive, and of course it becomes more attractive the further we progress."

...the trip to the USA: "We'll probably fly on 10 June - but we haven't finalised the scale of the trip yet. We consciously want to fly a few days earlier to acclimatise. We chose this base in Orlando because we'll always have very good connections from there, depending on how the tournament bracket turns out. Of course, it's clear that, as far as possible, we're taking the entire squad with us. If necessary, we can use an additional transfer window to bring back players for the Club World Cup who are currently out on loan and there's also the possibility of extending contracts at short notice for the duration of the tournament. But we haven't finalised and discussed in detail how we'll proceed. We want to have the best possible squad because we want to achieve the best possible result - I think everyone at Bayern knows what that means."

...the group stage: "It's a group we're taking seriously: Anyone who pays any attention to Boca Juniors can see that they're doing an excellent job in Argentina, that they've regularly been champions in recent years. It's not to be taken lightly. Auckland City are certainly the underdogs, there's no need to beat around the bush. And Benfica? Well, I didn't think the way we won against Benfica in the Champions League was that commanding. Only two clubs will progress from this group. From that point of view, it's a group to be taken very seriously."

...the role the fans will play at the Club World Cup: "I'm sure the game against Boca Juniors in Miami will be an away game for us due to the large Hispanic population and that we’ll experience huge enthusiasm and excitement in the stadium. I really hope that lots of German fans will also be there - whether they're exiles or the descendants of emigrants. I know from our Südkurve that there's definitely a group of die-hard fans who will also be there in the USA. They'll certainly raise the roof for FC Bayern."

Find out more on the Trophy Tour here: