(Yicai Global) Oct. 24 -- FIFA's council has unanimously agreed that China will be the host of the newly formatted 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, Gianni Infantino, president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, announced at a press conference in Shanghai today.

The current seven-team tournament will be expanded to 24, and the competition will be held every four years instead of every year, news platform Shanghai Rexian Network reported. Several Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, will be involved in organizing the tournament, Infantino said.

In the new version, eight seats will be granted to European soccer clubs, six to South American ones, three to North and Central America and the Caribbean, three to Africa, one to a soccer club from Oceania and of the three granted to Asia, two will be given to Chinese clubs as the host nation.

The cost of hosting the revamped tournament is around USD1.6 billion. The prize pool will also increase significantly compared to previous competitions. The champion can expect to receive around USD120 million and other participants at least USD20 million each.

The FIFA Club World Cup has been held every year since 2005. The current format features one club from the host country and the professional soccer league champion clubs from six continents. In general it attracts less attention than the FIFA World Cup where national football teams compete and the level of skill is considered higher.