FIFA has changed the Women’s Club World Cup so the Libertadores winners will open in the semi-finals against Barcelona, a draw that makes the road to the title steeper for South America’s champions. The 2027 Copa das Campeãs will now be staged in Miami from 27 to 31 January, with the final phase set for the city and the stadiums still to be confirmed.
The update matters now because clubs are already looking at the bracket they could inherit. If Corinthians win the 2026 Libertadores, Meu Timao reports they would meet Barcelona in their first match at the intercontinental event, a far harder start than the path they had in the previous edition.
That previous run is the reference point behind the change. When Corinthians won the 2025 Libertadores, Lucas Piccinato’s side began in the semi-finals against Gotham FC, the Concacaf W Champions Cup winners, and then met Arsenal, the European champions, in the final. They were one step from the trophy before losing out at the last hurdle, and the new format removes the cushion that once came with entering the competition.
Barcelona’s place on the same side as the Libertadores winners also sharpens the contrast with the rest of the bracket. América of Mexico are already set on the other side, while the African champions are through to the quarter-finals and Naegohyang of North Korea will face the Oceania champions in the round of 16. FIFA has left the bracket partly fixed, but not complete, and that is where the uncertainty now sits.
For South America’s champion, the change is more than cosmetic. It turns the opening game into the defining one, and if Corinthians return as Libertadores winners, Piccinato would have to navigate Barcelona immediately rather than build into the tournament the way his team did in the last edition. The remaining places in Miami will settle the rest of the field, but the headline route is already clear: there is no gentle first step this time.
