Brendan Rodgers told what would happen if Celtic were invited to FIFA’s Club World Cup

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The domestic season for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers officially finished on May 24.

But, despite it being the summer break for many footballers, there are still several major tournaments going on around the world, including the much-talked-about FIFA Club World Cup.

It’s a tournament that has divided opinion, with some of the biggest teams across the world, from Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain to the champions of Brazil, Botafogo, competing in it.

Some just see it as another way for FIFA, and others, to bulk up their pockets, and how players are now being overworked in an already-packed schedule.

As Celtic fans saw last season, UEFA revamped the Champions League format, adding two more matches to the group stage, so this FIFA Club World Cup isn’t exactly helping matters.

But what if the champions of Scotland were invited?

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Celtic at the FIFA Club World Cup

Packed schedule or not, one thing is for sure: competing at this FIFA Club World Cup is very, very rewarding – the total prize money on offer is £743 million – and just under £35 million for the winners.

And whilst there have been many empty seats at some games – more than 400,000 so far in the entire tournament, according to BBC Sport.

Scott Allan thinks the Celtic Park faithful would ‘travel in their numbers’ if they were offered the chance to compete in such a financially-rewarding tournament.

“I am looking at their players (at the Club World Cup), hardly had a break, how are they still doing it with the amount of games they are playing this season?!” said Allan.

“As a fan watching, it’s always good to have that level of player watching on your television.

On Celtic being at the Club World Cup: “They will travel in their numbers. You can imagine. I think both Rangers and Celtic fans make trips to America quite regularly. Big supporters clubs over there as well, so you can only imagine the fanbase that they would take with them.

“Maybe in the future, that is something we will get to see.”

How do European teams qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup?

The tournament itself is taking place in the USA, with 32 clubs from six continental confederations locking horns with one another – that’s teams from Asia, Africa, North and Central America, South America, Oceania and Europe.

This is basically an expanded version, with more teams, glitz and glamour, of the previous Club World Cups that used to take place in the winter.

A club’s qualification is based on:

• The number of points they have picked up from the last four seasons of their continental club competitions.

• Those teams in Europe have been awarded the most slots (12 places), and it’s decided on their Champions League performances from 2020-21 to 2023-24.

Of course, like PSG during the recently concluded campaign:

• If you have won the tournament outright during the past four seasons, then you have qualified.

But, for those who haven’t won the Champions League recently, such as the German duo, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

• They qualify via UEFA’s ranking system, determined by clubs’ performances over the four seasons.