Monday 12/18

☃️ 🎁⚽️ Good morning, let kick this Monday off. This morning, the Champions League draw for the round of 16 was held. The matchups don’t kickoff until February but if your team made it through and are suffering from injuries, hopefully this buys them some time. The final will be held at Wembley Stadium in London, and you can check out the results of the draw here.

Giveaway: Wake up and smell the coffee. Just in time for the Holidays, our next giveaway will be a $30 gift card for our favorite coffee brand- Kickoff Coffee. As always, each friend that you refer to subscribe to the newsletter is an entry to our raffle. Best of luck!

Beyond The Pitch
Luton Town Captain Suffers Cardiac Arrest During Game

@Luton Town

🏥 Play was stopped at the 58th minute. Frightening scenes at Vitality Stadium as Tom Lockyer collapsed on the field during the match this Saturday. He was immediately attended on by the medical staff and stretchered off the field and taken to the hospital. The latest reports on Lockyer’s condition have stated that he is indeed still at the hospital but in stable condition.

🚑 Unfortunately, these scenes were all too familiar. Lockyer collapsed last year on the pitch as Luton Town were finalizing a strong campaign for Premier League promotion. After the collapse, the doctor’s determined that he would need heart surgery due to an atrial fibrillation. Wearing the captain’s armband for the team, the importance of Lockyer to the Luton Town squad can’t be emphasized enough. Here’s to a speedy recovery as some things are bigger than soccer.

Weekend Recap

Premier League

La Liga

World
FIFA Club World Cup 2025

@Inside Sport

🌏️🫡US to host newly renovated FIFA Club World Cup 2025, in what has been declared as the expanded 32-team men’s Club World Cup will see its debut next summer. The new format will last 29 days, beginning on June 15, 2025 and concluding July 13, 2025. Following similar to the international FIFA World Cup, the new Club World Cup will be held every four years instead of its current yearly event. The tournament will have eight groups of four with the top two teams from each group going through to the playoff stages. The US will host the 2025 tournament as a prelude to them hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

3️⃣2️⃣ Idk about you, but we’re feeling the 32, the new edition of the Club World Cup will include a combination of each confederation’s club champions from the previous four seasons, as well as teams that rank the highest in their continental rankings. UEFA teams will take up 12 of the 32 spots, with four of those being UEFA Champions League winners in each of the four years before 2025, and eight will come through the ranking pathway. Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester City have already secured their places by winning the last editions of Champions League. CONMEBOL will send six sides, two through the ranking pathway. While CONCACAF, CAF, and AFC will each have four teams including one from the ranking pathways, while OFC’s lone representative will be via their rankings.

  • Europe

    • Chelsea (2020-21 UEFA Champions League winners)

    • Real Madrid (2021-22 UEFA Champions League winners)

    • Manchester City (2022-23 UEFA Champions League winners)

    • Bayern Munich (ranking pathway)

    • Paris Saint-Germain (ranking pathway)

    • Inter (ranking pathway)

    • Porto (ranking pathway)

    • Benfica (ranking pathway)

  • South America

    • Palmeiras (2021 Copa Libertadores winners)

    • Flamengo (2022 Copa Libertadores winners)

    • Fluminense (2023 Copa Libertadores winners)

  • North America

    • Monterrey (2021 Concacaf Champions Cup winners)

    • Seattle Sounders (2022 Concacaf Champions Cup winners)

    • Leon (2023 Concacaf Champions Cup winners) 

  • Asia

    • Al Hilal (2021 AFC Champions League winners)

    • Urraca Red Dragons (2022 ASFC Champions League winners)

👴👶Out with the old, and in with the old? FIFA also announced the creation of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, an annual club competition that resembles the Current Club World Cup format. The Intercontinental Cup will see the most recent confederations (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC) face off against each other in a single-leg matchup before the playoffs and final. Opening up with Stage A where the OFC Champions League winner will take on either the AFC or CAF champ, the winner of which will face the non-participating Asian or African team. Stage B, on the other hand, will have the CONCACAF Champions Cup victor face the Copa Libertadores champion, the winners of Stage A and Stage B will clash in the playoff before facing the UEFA Champions League winner in the final. The playoff is expected to take off sometime December 14, 2025.

🤕🩼For a top player playing at a top club, the calendar is very demanding Real Madrid Defender, Dani Carvajal told news conference in November. With the new Club World Cup, players likely won’t ever get a summer off, and it’s no coincidence seeing an increase in injuries with an increase in matches.

Quick Bites 🍕

Goals Of The Weekend ⚽

The Athletic: Netlfix Docuseries Focuses On Human Side of USWNT

Sport docuseries are often exciting due to the access viewers are given to what truly happens behind the scenes. The USWMNT had a disappointing 2023 World Cup run but the new docuseries “Under Pressure” highlights the humanity side of those players.

ESPN: Real Madrid See Third ACL Injury This Season

Real Madrid have seen an unprecedent amount of ACL injuries in on season, with the latest player being David Alaba. Alaba had to be subbed off in the 35th minute after injuring himself on a challenge. Despite all their injuries, the team continues to fight and perform at a high level and currently find themselves in first place in La Liga.

Around The Web 🕸️

Tweet of the day: @TrollFootball