Seoul: The championship trophy for the FIFA Club World Cup is set to arrive in South Korea early next month as part of its global tour, the country's sole participating team, Ulsan HD FC, announced Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the trophy will be showcased on two occasions in South Korea. It will first be displayed on March 6 at Naver 1784, the headquarters of the South Korean portal giant Naver, located in Seongnam, south of Seoul. The second display will occur on March 9 at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, which is 300 kilometers southeast of the capital city and serves as the home ground for Ulsan HD FC.
The 2025 Club World Cup tournament will take place across the United States from June 14 to July 13. FIFA initiated the trophy tour in January in New York City, with plans for the tour to visit 29 cities across 20 nations over a span of 140 days.
Naver will provide a livestream of the first unveiling of the trophy on March 6, with Ulsan head coach Kim Pan-gon and captain Kim Young-gwon scheduled to attend the event. The trophy will then be showcased before Ulsan's home match against Jeju SK FC at Munsu Stadium on March 9, with the exhibition starting at 10 a.m., four hours before the match kickoff.
FIFA has expanded the Club World Cup to 32 teams starting this year, with Ulsan being one of four clubs representing the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the only team from South Korea. Ulsan secured their position by finishing second in the AFC club ranking points.
In the group stage of the tournament, Ulsan will compete against Mamelodi Sundowns FC of South Africa on June 17 in Orlando, Florida; Fluminense FC of Brazil on June 21 in East Rutherford, New Jersey; and Borussia Dortmund of Germany on June 25 in Cincinnati, Ohio.