Chelsea could MISS OUT on Club World Cup defence in 2029 as FIFA consider changing qualifying rules to include Liverpool and Barcelona

Chelsea face the prospect of being unable to defend their Club World Cup trophy in 2029, per The Times. Organisers FIFA are considering whether or not to allow the winners to qualify automatically, which is not currently the case.

As it stands, each league can only have two clubs representing them in the tournament, with Chelsea and Manchester City heading over from England. That frustrated FIFA, however, as big clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal missed out. All three are huge revenue drivers.

UEFA may take issue with the plans, however, if the Club World Cup threatens to become a competitor for the Champions League. As it was, though, none of the three champions of England, Spain and Italy played in the tournament that the Blues won.

Chelsea kick off their Premier League season next weekend against Crystal Palace after friendlies versus Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan.