Weaver on FIFA Club World Cup: We’ve come a long way since York away | OneFootball

Nicky Weaver admits he could never have envisaged watching the Club bid to be FIFA Club World Cup winners when he was enduring the nadir of his career away at York City.

City are part of the inaugural edition of the expanded tournament in June and July this year, having qualified through our 2023 Champions League success.

We’ll play Moroccan side Wydad AC, Abu Dhabi-based Al Ain and Italian giants Juventus in Group G, with the top two progressing to the Round of 16.

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But less than 30 years ago, City suffered what’s seen by many as the lowest point in our history, Joe Royle’s men succumbing to a humiliating defeat in Division Two at Bootham Crescent in front of 7,527.

Weaver played in goal that day as the Minstermen won 2-1 and now stresses it’s unimaginable how far City have come since that miserable fixture.

“I wouldn’t have been thinking about this when we lost to York 2-1, let me tell you!” he said.

“I couldn’t have imagined playing in a massive global tournament at that point. But it’s amazing to see where the club have gone in that time.

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“It’s an amazing story where City were then and where they are now and how they’ve got there in a relatively short space of time.”

It's worth pointing out in Weaver’s defence that at the end of that 1998/99 season, he was the penalty shoot-out hero as City earned promotion back into Division One via the play-offs after a memorable final against Gillingham.

The Blues have actually won 25 trophies since that May day in the capital, winning the Treble in 2022/23, holding the ‘Big Five’ in 2023 and winning a history-making Four-in-a-Row in 2024 among many other highlights.

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This season, we’re vying for FA Cup glory and Champions League qualification after an injury-hit campaign before heading to the States for the FCWC.

Weaver is still hopeful of a strong end to this current campaign before relishing watching the Blues vie to be World Champions.

“It's been difficult this season for a number of reasons, all well documented,” he said. “But then, City have made something very difficult look very easy over the last few years when it certainly hasn’t been.

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“This season can still be a good season, winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League. That would still be fantastic.

“And then if we can win the Club World Cup, it’d be a nice boost ahead of the new season.

“It’s a new competition we are looking forward to and if we’re successful we’re winning a trophy before the new season has even started.

“It's an amazing tournament to play in. To play in that means you’re playing for an elite club at an elite level and you’re winning things.

“So all the teams who are competing will have been successful in their regions.

“It’s the first of its kind. The timing is unusual with it being at the end of one season and before another with barely any pre-season but it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.

“There will be some massive clubs playing against each other which is what people want to see.”

How to watch

DAZN will broadcast every minute from the event, with all 63 matches, live-streamed, free to view on DAZN globally, and in multiple languages.

If you are already a DAZN subscriber or Freemium member, then the competition is part of your current membership.

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You can then watch all the action on the DAZN App via smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, streaming devices, game consoles and web browsers.

Join now to be ready to watch DAZN’s coverage for free.