Berlin – Bayern were on Thursday drawn to face Oceania’s record Champions League winners Auckland City, followed by Argentina’s Boca Junior and Lisbon side Benfica in Group C of the June 15-July 13, 2025, tournament in the United States.
Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl said they will face “opponents with tradition, with a historic whiff of Diego Maradona and from the other side of the world.”
He named Auckland a club “you really don’t get to face every day” and sporting director said the New Zealand side was “something special on top.”
Bayern recently beat Benfica 1-0 in the Champions League and won the 2001 Intercontinental Cup with the same score against Boca Juniors.
“We’ll approach this group with the greatest respect, but our clear goal is to go as far as possible in this tournament,” Eberl said.
Dortmund will start against Brazil’s Fluminense, with South Korea’s Ulsan and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns their other Group F opponents at the 32-team tournament.
“We will face three very interesting opponents that we don’t yet know anything about, with the exception of Fluminense,” Coach Nuri Sahin said.
“That will of course change before the start of the tournament but, irrespective of that, we want to get through the group stage and lay the foundations for a successful tournament in these three games.”
The tournament is controversial in its new form because it adds to an already loaded calendar, with the finalists having to play six games. The event was previously held with seven teams.
“It can also be fun and end up being a cool story. But if you’re successful you’re in it for the long haul, which will affect preparing for the new season. So it is grit your teeth and get to it,” Dortmund midfielder Julian Brandt said.
Governing body FIFA has promised the 32 clubs big prize money, with the appearance fee alone said be around $50 million per club. The tournament also serves as a rehearsal of sorts for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
