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By Agency Report

World football governing body, has announced that the draw for the 18th edition of the annual Club World Cup, will hold on November 29, in Switzerland’s capital city of Zurich

FIFA announced the date on Wednesday adding that the draw will be virtual.

The competition is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates early next year but an exact date hasn’t been determined yet, FIFA added.

The Club World Cup is usually played in December but this is the second successive year in which it has been delayed — the 2020 edition in Qatar was played in February this year.

A February start date seems most likely given the Africa Cup of Nations will be staged in Cameroon from 9 January to 6 February.

Chelsea will be Europe’s representative after winning last season’s UEFA Champions League, while Ahly of Egypt are also confirmed participants as Africa’s Champions League winners. The Cairo giants finished third in the previous edition.

South America will be represented by either Palmeiras or Flamengo, with the Brazilian duo meeting in the Copa Libertadores final.

Bayern Munich won the most recent edition of the Club World Cup, which has been held in the UAE on four previous occasions, most recently in 2018 when Real Madrid were the winners.

A lucrative, revamped 24-team Club World Cup, including eight sides from Europe, was due to be played in China this year before the pandemic put that project on hold.

The FIFA Club World Cup is, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation’s league champions.

Chelsea will enter the competition at the semi-final stage and will be placed in the opposite side of the draw to the winner of South America’s Copa Libertadores.

Al Jazira, as the UAE champions and host club, will kick off the tournament against Oceania’s Auckland City in the first round.

African champions Al Ahly, Asian champions Al Hilal and North American champions Monterrey join the winner of that game for the second round. The two winners of those matches will face either Chelsea or the South American champions in the semi-finals.

The Copa Libertadores will be won by either Flamengo or Palmeiras, both of Brazil, in the final on Saturday, November 27.