Former Senegal international Aliou Cisse has been named to the FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) for the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States.
Cisse, who is the current head coach of the Libyan national team, has been selected alongside six other national team coaches and former footballers for the TSG that will help analyse all the matches across the Club World Cup.
The TSG, led by FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger, includes Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina), Tobin Heath (USA), Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), Roberto Martínez (Spain), Gilberto Silva (Brazil) and Pascal Zuberbuhler (Switzerland).
“[I am] very excited because it’s the first Club World Cup,” Cisse said. “Today, I would say that the world of football will be riveted to the United States to watch this competition. The best teams, the best clubs in the world will meet there.
“So, having been chosen by FIFA to be part of the [Technical Study Group] makes me really proud. I’m very happy to be part of this group of technicians that are required to reflect on football development.”
The group has been tasked with analysing matches to identify tactical trends and innovations. They will adopt insights and data from the FIFA Football Performance Insights team to illustrate their findings.
At least one member of the FIFA Technical Study Group will be present to monitor each of the tournament’s 63 matches.
“’It improves the coach’s work,” Cisse added. “When I arrived here, I discovered a lot of people who work in many areas, and today, football has reached this level. It’s become technological, it’s become mental, it’s become physical in all sectors, at every level.
“You need to be ready at every level today. You need the best at these levels. When we talk about athletic preparation, the fitness coaches are getting better and better. When we talk about mental preparation, when we talk about medicine, there is data that comes into play.
“So, these days there are a lot of tools at the coach’s disposal, which means that the game continues to progress and the fans are happy to see that football is improving, and that’s great.”
The 2025 Club World Cup, the first edition of the expanded 32-team format will take place from 14 June to 13 July across 12 stadiums in 11 cities in the United States.
