2029 Club World Cup: OM virtually eliminated after Champions League disaster

Olympique de Marseille is virtually eliminated from the 2029 Club World Cup after a disastrous Champions League campaign that saw them miss the top 24 in the final moments of the league phase.

UEFA has unveiled its selection rules for the 2029 edition of the tournament, which will bring together 32 teams including 12 European clubs. As in 2025, the limit is set at two clubs per country. The four most recent winners of the Ligue des Champions will be automatically qualified — PSG, the defending double champions, is already part of it. The remaining places will go to clubs with the best results over four years in the UEFA rankings.

The draw is scheduled for December 2028, and the competition could be held in Spain, Morocco and Portugal, a year before the World Cup jointly organized by these three countries.

OM had approached its first Champions League under the new format with the ambition of accompanying PSG to this Club World Cup. The result is stark: the Phocaeans finished outside the top 24 in the final moments of the last matchday, which led to a second half of the season without European competition. In the UEFA ranking determining qualification, AS Monaco currently occupies the second French place, ahead of LOSC, which is playing its second consecutive Champions League and can still earn decisive points.

If OM fails to qualify for the Champions League at the end of this season, their chances of being among the twelve European representatives in 2029 will be virtually nil. The rule of two clubs per country, maintained despite discussions to raise it to three, leaves no room for error for French clubs outside PSG.