The Premier League has told Chelsea and Manchester City they will not be allowed to delay the start of next season’s fixtures to try to help them accommodate – and recover from – the extra matches they are due to play in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

City are the worst affected by the calendar congestion as they could face an extra 11 matches over the course of this season as a result of their involvement in the new international club competitions.

FIFA’s revamped and extended tournament runs for the first time in June and July this year. The Club World Cup final is on July 13 – less than five weeks before the start of the new Premier League season on August 16.

City, like the other British teams involved in European competition, have already played two extra group games in the Champions League this season, but, having failed to qualify automatically for the knockout phase, they face a further two play-off matches before the last 16.

Pep Guardiola’s side are guaranteed to face an extra three group games in the summer in the Club World Cup, with a possible four further matches in the knockout stages if they go all the way to the final.

While the Premier League is sympathetic to the issue and confirms it has considered changing their fixtures, it is adamant the problems are not of its making – due instead to UEFA and FIFA expanding their competitions.

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Man City legend Sergio Aguero expressed his support for the FIFA Club World Cup and said it will not be an issue for players, despite the talk around fixture congestion and player welfare

“We’ve looked at it,” said the Premier League’s chief football officer Tony Scholes.

“We’re having this imposed upon us, particularly by FIFA. So, there’s an element saying that, why would we be adjusting our competition when they’ve imposed a competition that we don’t agree with?

“The more significant element, though, is we simply can’t. The calendar is squeezed as much as it can be at the moment, and we can’t afford a delay to the start of the season.”

What is the Club World Cup?

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Sky Sports’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains why clubs will have to bring their strongest squad to the Club World Cup, how players out of contract next summer can still play and how a special transfer window will be introduced

Before its revamp for the 2025 tournament, the Club World Cup took place every year in December and was contested by the winners of continental club competitions from around the world.

For example, the winners of the UEFA Champions League would take part in the tournament every year and face off against continental counterparts from South America (CONMEBOL), Asia (AFC), Africa (CAF), North America (CONCACAF) and Oceania (OFC).

But then FIFA announced in December that the competition would be expanded to 32 club teams and would take place every four years.

To replace the annual competition, an Intercontinental Cup will be played annually and have the Champions League winner playing in the final against a team that comes through intercontinental play-offs.

When is the 2025 Club World Cup?

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking in October, responded to the new FIFA Club World Cup rule that teams must bring their ‘strongest players’ to the competition

The Club World Cup will take place over 29 days in the summer of 2025.

The tournament starts on June 15, with the final taking place on July 13.

What’s the format of the Club World Cup?

The tournament format works exactly the same as the FIFA World Cup, only for clubs.

The 32 teams have been divided into eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stage.

The last-16 stage – the first single knockout round – then moves to the quarter-final, semi-final and then final. There is no third-place play-off between the two losing semi-final teams.