Rangers will not be participating in the Club World Cup when the expanded format of the competition takes place.

The 32-team event is set to be hosted in the United States in 2025, and the Light Blues were hoping to play in the tournament.

It was reported that FIFA were looking to restrict the number of clubs from each country, which would have given the Gers a decent chance of being involved based on their UEFA club co-efficient rankings.

However, it has now been confirmed by FIFA’s Ruling Council that only co-efficient points earned in the Champions League over the last four years will be counted.

Considering that Rangers have only qualified for the group stage once during that period, and lost all six matches, it means Philippe Clement’s side won’t be in contention.

It’s a significant blow for Rangers in financial terms

FIFA have reportedly devoted around £50m in prize money for the tournament so the Gers would have stood to earn a substantial windfall if they had qualified.

As the Scottish club announced losses of £10.5m before transfers at their AGM earlier this month, playing at the tournament would have been a major financial boost.

Who will qualify for the FIFA World Cup?

It’s already known that the last three Champions League winners (Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City) will be involved in the competition.

In terms of other names, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain are already eligible, but the likes of Arsenal, FC Copenhagen, Real Sociedad and PSV Eindhoven would have to win this year’s Champions League in order to qualify.

Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Juventus, Lazio, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Salzburg could also be in contention based on their coefficient ranking. However, like Rangers, neither Liverpool nor Manchester United will be at the tournament.