This edition also marked the first time a club from the United States (Seattle Sounders FC) took part in the tournament.

This, in conjunction with FIFA's planned future expansion of the Club World Cup, resulted in few public details on whether the 2022 tournament would take place.

[3][4] In December 2022, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani implied the Club World Cup would take place in 2023, but would not be hosted by the United States.

[8] UOL Esporte also reported in August that China were interested in holding the tournament, having originally been chosen to host an expanded Club World Cup in 2021 which was postponed due to scheduling issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

[10] In December, Diario AS reported that Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were the final contenders to host the tournament.

[11] On 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council appointed Morocco as the host for the tournament, and confirmed it would take place from 1 to 11 February 2023.