This article is about the men's club football competition. For the competition among national teams, seeFIFA World Cup. For the future women's competition, seeFIFA Women's Club World Cup. For the annual FIFA club competition starting in 2024, seeFIFA Intercontinental Cup.
TheFIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men'sassociation football competition organised by theFédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's globalgoverning body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as theFIFA Club World Championship. It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors, chiefly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partnerInternational Sport and Leisure (ISL). It returned in2005 as an annual competition until 2023. Following the 2023 edition, the tournament was restructured into a quadrennial event beginning in 2025, adopting a format similar to that of theFIFA World Cup. The current world champions areChelsea, who defeatedParis Saint-Germain 3–0 in the2025 final.
The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in2000, during which year it ran in parallel with theIntercontinental Cup, a competition played by the winners of theUEFA Champions League and theCopa Libertadores, with the champions of each tournament both retroactively recognised by FIFA as club world champions in 2017. In 2005, the Intercontinental Cup was merged with the FIFA Club World Championship, and in 2006, the tournament was renamed as the FIFA Club World Cup. The winner of the Club World Cup receives the FIFA Club World Cup trophy and aFIFA Champions Badge.
The current format, which came into effect with the 2025 edition, features 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation; 12 teams fromEurope, 6 fromSouth America, 4 fromAfrica, 4 fromAsia, 4 fromNorth, Central America and Caribbean, 1 fromOceania, and 1 team from the host nation. The teams are drawn into eight groups of four, with each team playing three group stage matches in around-robin format. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, starting with the round of 16 and culminating with the final.
Real Madrid hold the record for most titles, having won the competition five times.Corinthians' inaugural victory remains the best result from a host nation's national league champions. Teams from Spain have won the tournament eight times, the most for any nation. England has the largest number of winning teams, with four clubs having won the tournament.
The first club tournament to be billed as theFootball World Championship was held in1887, in whichFA Cup winnersAston Villa beatScottish Cup winnersHibernian, the winners of the only national competitions at the time. The first time when the champions of two European leagues met was in what was nicknamed the1895 World Championship, when English championsSunderland beat Scottish championsHeart of Midlothian 5–3.[1] Ironically, the Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship consisted entirely of Scottish players – Scottish players who moved to England to play professionally in those days were known as theScotch Professors.[1][2]
The first attempt at creating a global club football tournament, according to FIFA, was in 1909, 21 years before the firstFIFA World Cup.[3] TheSir Thomas Lipton Trophy was held in Italy in 1909 and 1911, and contested by English, Italian, German and Swiss clubs.[4] English amateur teamWest Auckland won on both occasions.[5]
The idea that FIFA should organise international club competitions dates from the beginning of the 1950s.[6] In 1951, theBrazilian FA createdCopa Rio, also called "World Champions Cup" in Brazil, with a view to being a Club World Cup (a "club version" of the FIFA World Cup). FIFA presidentJules Rimet was asked about FIFA's involvement inCopa Rio, and stated that it was not under FIFA's jurisdiction since it was organised and sponsored by the Brazilian FA.[7] FIFA board officialsStanley Rous andOttorino Barassi participated personally, albeit not as FIFA assignees, in the organisation of Copa Rio in 1951. Rous' role was the negotiations with European clubs, whereas Barassi did the same and also helped form the framework of the competition. The Italian press regarded the competition as an "impressive project" that "was greeted so enthusiastically by FIFA officials Stanley Rous and Jules Rimet to the extent of almost giving it an official FIFA stamp."[8] Because of the difficulty the Brazilian FA found in bringing European clubs to the competition, theO Estado de S. Paulo newspaper suggested that there should be FIFA involvement in the programming of international club competitions saying that, "ideally, international tournaments, here or abroad, should be played with a schedule set by FIFA".[9]Palmeiras beatJuventus atMaracanã with over 200,000 spectators in attendance at the final of the 1951 Copa Rio, and were hailed as the first ever Club World Champions by the whole Brazilian press.[10][11] However, as a number of European clubs declined participation in Copa Rio and their berths were given to less renowned ones, the quality of the eventually participating clubs was criticised in the Brazilian press,[12] therefore the Brazilian FA announced that the following editions of Copa Rio were not to be hailed as a World Champions Cup but only as Copa Rio,[13] and thus the second edition of the cup, won byFluminense in 1952, was hailed as a World Champions Cup by a minority of the Brazilian press,[14][15] having Copa Rio been extinguished by the Brazilian FA soon later, and replaced withanother cup, won in 1953 byVasco da Gama.
Still in the 1950s, thePequeña Copa del Mundo (Spanish forSmall World Cup) was a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, with some other club tournaments held inCaracas from 1958 onwards also often referred to by the name of the original 1952–1957 tournament.[16] It was usually played by four participants, with two from Europe and two from South America.[16]
In 1960, FIFA authorised theInternational Soccer League, created along the lines of the 1950s Copa Rio, with a view to creating a Club World Cup, with ratification from Stanley Rous, who then had become FIFA president.[17] In the same year, the Intercontinental Cup rose to existence.
The Intercontinental Cup and early proposals for a FIFA Club World Cup
We want to win the title, not so much for ourselves but to prevent Racing from being champions.
The indifference of the fans is the only explanation for our financial failure [at the Intercontinental Cup]. It would be much better if we had gotten a friendly similar to the one we would do inTel Aviv, on 11 January, for US$255,000.
TheTournoi de Paris was a competition initially meant to bring together the top teams from Europe and South America; it was first played in 1957 when Vasco da Gama, the Rio de Janeiro champions, beat European championsReal Madrid 4–3 in the final at theParc des Princes. The match was the first ever hailed as the "best of Europe X best of South American" club match, as it was Real Madrid's first intercontinental competition as European champions (the Madrid team played the 1956Pequeña Copa del Mundo, but confirmed their participation in the Venezuelan tournament before becoming European champions).[21] In 1958, Real Madrid declined to participate in the Paris competition claiming that the final of the 1957–58European Cup was just five days after the Paris Tournoi.[22] On 8 October 1958, the Brazilian FA PresidentJoão Havelange announced, at aUEFA meeting he attended as an invitee, the decision to create the "best of Europe X best of South American" club contest with endorsement from UEFA andCONMEBOL (also known as CSF): theCopa Libertadores, the CONMEBOL-endorsed South American equivalent of the UEFA-endorsed European Cup, and theIntercontinental Cup, the latter being a UEFA/CONMEBOL-endorsed "best club of the world" contest between the champion clubs of both confederations.
Real Madrid won the firstIntercontinental Cup in 1960,[23][24] titled themselvesworld champions until FIFA stepped in and objected; citing that the competition did not grant the right to attempt participation to any other champions from outside Europe and South America, FIFA stated that they can only claim to be intercontinental champions of a competition played between two continental organisations[25] (in contrast to the Intercontinental Cup, the right to attempt participation at the FIFA World Cup, through FIFA invitation in 1930 andqualification process since 1934, wasopen to every FIFA member-country, regardless of the continent where it was located). FIFA stated that they would prohibit the1961 edition to be played out unless the organisers regarded the competition as a friendly or a private match between two organisations.[26]
The Intercontinental Cup attracted the interest of other continents.[27] The North and Central America confederation,CONCACAF, was created in 1961 in order to, among other reasons, try to include its clubs in the Copa Libertadores and, by extension, the Intercontinental Cup.[28] However, their entry into both competitions was rejected. Subsequently, theCONCACAF Champions' Cup began in1962.[29]
Due to the brutality of the Argentine and Uruguayan clubs at the Intercontinental Cup, FIFA was asked several times during the late 1960s to assess penalties and regulate the tournament.[30] However, FIFA refused each request.[31] The first of these requests was made in 1967, after a play-off match labelledThe Battle of Montevideo.[32] TheScottish Football Association, via President Willie Allan, wanted FIFA to recognise the competition in order to enforce football regulation; FIFA responded that it could not regulate a competition it did not organise.[18] Allan's crusade also suffered after CONMEBOL, with the backing of its President Teofilo Salinas and theArgentine Football Association (Asociación del Fútbol Argentino; AFA), refused to allow FIFA to have any hand in the competition stating:[33]
The CSF is the entity in charge of controlling, in South America, the organisation of the tournament between the champions of Europe and [South] America, a competition FIFA considers a friendly. We do not think it's appropriate that FIFA has to meddle in the matter.
Stanley Rous can be considered a "founding father" of the road for a club world cup. As a referee, he participated in the 1930Coupe des Nations. As a football official, he endorsed and supported Copa Rio and theInternational Soccer League. As FIFA president, he was the first FIFA official to propose the expansion of theIntercontinental Cup into an all-confederations Club World Cup under FIFA auspices, a proposal he put forward in 1967 and that would turn into the FIFA Club World Cup in 2000
René Courte, FIFA's General Sub-Secretary, wrote in 1967 an article shortly afterwards stating that FIFA viewed the Intercontinental Cup as a "European-South American friendly match".[34] This was confirmed by FIFA president Stanley Rous. With the Asian and North American club competitions in place in 1967, FIFA opened the idea of supervising the Intercontinental Cup if it included those confederations, with Stanley Rous saying that CONCACAF and theAsian Football Confederation had requested in 1967 participation of their champions in the Intercontinental Cup; the proposal was met with a negative response from UEFA and CONMEBOL. The1968 and1969 Intercontinental Cups finished in similarly violent fashion, withManchester United managerMatt Busby insisting that "the Argentineans should be banned from all competitive football. FIFA should really step in."[35] In 1970, the FIFA Executive Committee proposed the creation of a multicontinental Club World Cup, not limited to Europe and South America but including also the other confederations; the idea did not go forward due to UEFA resistance.
In 1973, French newspaperL'Equipe, who helped bring about the birth of the European Cup,[36] volunteered to sponsor a Club World Cup contested by the champions of Europe, South America, North America and Africa, the only continental club tournaments in existence at the time; the competition was to potentially take place inParis between September and October 1974, with an eventual final to be held at theParc des Princes. The extreme negativity of the Europeans prevented this from happening.[37] The same newspaper tried once again in 1975 to create a Club World Cup, in which participants would have been the four semi-finalists of the European Cup, both finalists of the Copa Libertadores, as well as the African and Asian champions; once more, the proposal was to no avail.[38] UEFA, via its president,Artemio Franchi, declined once again and the proposal failed.[39] The idea for a multicontinental, FIFA-endorsed Club World Cup was also endorsed byJoão Havelange in his campaigning for FIFA presidency in 1974. The Mexican clubsAmérica andPumas UNAM, and the Mexican Football Association, demanded participation in the Intercontinental Cup (either as the American-continent representantives in the Intercontinental Cup or as part of a UEFA-CONMEBOL-CONCACAF new Intercontinental Cup) after winning the 1977–78 and 1980–81 editions of theInteramerican Cup against the South American champions; the request was unsuccessful.
The 1970s saw no fewer than seven occasions in which the European champions relinquished participating at the Intercontinental Cup, resulting in either the participation of the European Cup runners-up or the cancellation of the event; thus, with the Intercontinental Cup in danger of being dissolved,[40] West Nally, a British marketing company, was hired by UEFA and CONMEBOL to find a viable solution in 1980;[41][42][43]Toyota Motor Corporation, via West Nally, took the competition under its wing and rebranded it as theToyota Cup, a one-off match played in Japan.[44][45] Toyota invested over US$700,000 in the1980 edition to take place inTokyo'sNational Olympic Stadium, with over US$200,000 awarded to each participant.[46] The Toyota Cup, with its new format, was received with scepticism, as the sport was unfamiliar in the Far East.[47][48] However, the financial incentive was welcomed, as European and South American clubs were suffering financial difficulties.[49] To protect themselves against the possibility of European withdrawals, Toyota, UEFA and every European Cup participant signed annual contracts requiring the eventual winners of the European Cup to participate at the Intercontinental Cup, as a condition UEFA stipulated to the clubs' participation in the European Cup, or risk facing an international lawsuit from UEFA and Toyota. For instance,Barcelona, the winners of the1991–92 European Cup, considered not participating in the Intercontinental Cup in 1992, and the aforementioned contractual obligation weighed in for their decision to play.[50] In 1983, the EnglishFootball Association tried organising a Club World Cup to be played in 1985 and sponsored by West Nally, only to be denied by UEFA.[51]
Inauguration (2000–2001)
Manchester United see this as an opportunity to compete for the ultimate honour of being the very first world club champions.
The framework of the2000 FIFA Club World Championship was laid years in advance.[53] According toSepp Blatter, the idea of the tournament was presented to the executive committee in December 1993 inLas Vegas, United States bySilvio Berlusconi,AC Milan's president.[54] Since every confederation had, by then, a stable, continental championship, FIFA felt it was prudent and relevant to have a Club World Championship tournament. Initially, there were nine candidates to host the competition: China, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Turkey, the United States and Uruguay; of the nine, only Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and Uruguay confirmed their interest to FIFA. On 7 June 1999, FIFA selected Brazil to host the competition,[55] which was initially scheduled to take place in 1999.[56] Manchester United legendBobby Charlton, a pillar ofEngland's victorious campaign in the1966 FIFA World Cup, stated that the Club World Championship provided "a fantastic chance of becoming the first genuine world champions".[57] The competition gave away US$28 million in prize money and itsTV rights, worth US$40 million, were sold to 15 broadcasters across five continents.[58] The final draw of the first Club World Championship was done on 14 October 1999 at theCopacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro.[59]
There they were claiming that the English weren't interested in the world championship, yet the BBC sent 60 people to cover the tournament. This shows that it was the most important competition that they have taken part in in their history. They came here thinking they were going to win easily but they didn't count on the strength of Vasco. No Manchester player would get a place in the Vasco team at the moment. The Brazilians are the best players in the world, the Europeans do not even come close.
—Eurico Miranda,Vasco da Gama's vice-president, 1986–2000, commenting on the importance given to the tournament by the Britishnews media, the level of European club football as well as Brazil's after his side's 3–1 win over Manchester United;Independent Online, 11 January 2000.[60]
The inaugural competition was planned to be contested in 1999 by the continental club winners of 1998, the Intercontinental Cup winners and the host nation's national club champions, but it was postponed by one year. When it was rescheduled, the competition had eight new participants from the continental champions of 1999: Brazilian clubsCorinthians andVasco da Gama, English side Manchester United, Mexicanclub Necaxa, Moroccan clubRaja CA, Spanish side Real Madrid, Saudi clubAl-Nassr, and Australian clubSouth Melbourne.[61] The first goal of the competition was scored by Real Madrid'sNicolas Anelka against Al-Nassr; Real Madrid went on to win the match 3–1.[62] The final was an all-Brazilian affair, as well as the only one which saw one side have home advantage.[63] Vasco da Gama could not take advantage of its local support, being beaten by Corinthians 4–3 onpenalties after a 0–0 draw in 90 minutes andextra time.[64][65]
Thesecond edition of the competition was planned for Spain in 2001, and would have featured 12 clubs.[66] The draw was performed atA Coruña on 6 March 2001.[67] However, it was cancelled on 18 May, due to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partnerInternational Sport and Leisure.[68] The participants of the cancelled edition received US$750,000 each in compensation; theReal Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) also received US$1 million from FIFA.[69] Another attempt to stage the competition in 2003, in which 17 countries were looking to be the host nation, also failed to happen.[70][71] FIFA agreed with UEFA, CONMEBOL and Toyota to merge the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Championship into one event.[72] The final Intercontinental Cup, played by representatives clubs of most developed continents in the football world, was in 2004, with a relaunched Club World Championship held in Japan in December 2005.[73] All the winning teams of the Intercontinental Cup were regarded by worldwidemass media and football's community asde facto "world champions"[74][75][76] until 2017 when FIFA officially (de jure) recognised all of them as official club world champions in equal status to the FIFA Club World Cup winners.[77][78][79]
The2005 version was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent. It contained just the six reigning continental champions, with the CONMEBOL and UEFA representatives receivingbyes to the semi-finals. A new trophy was introduced replacing the Intercontinental trophy, the Toyota trophy and the trophy of 2000. The draw for the 2005 edition of the competition took place inTokyo on 30 July 2005 atThe Westin Tokyo.[80] The 2005 edition saw São Paulo pushed to the limit by Saudi sideAl-Ittihad to reach the final.[81] In the final, one goal fromMineiro was enough to dispatch English clubLiverpool;[82] Mineiro became the first player to score in a Club World Cup final.[83]
Internacional defeated defending World and South American champions São Paulo in the2006 Copa Libertadores finals in order to qualify for the2006 tournament.[84] At the semi-finals, Internacional beatEgyptian sideAl Ahly in order to meet Barcelona in the final.[85] A late goal fromAdriano Gabiru kept the trophy in Brazil.[86][87] It was in2007 when Brazilian hegemony was finally broken: AC Milan won a close match againstJapan'sUrawa Red Diamonds, who were pushed by over 67,000 fans atYokohama'sInternational Stadium, and won 1–0 to reach the final.[88] In the final, Milan crushed Boca Juniors 4–2, in a match that saw the first playersent off in a Club World Cup final: Milan'sKakha Kaladze from Georgia in the 77th minute.[89] Eleven minutes later, Boca Junior's Pablo Ledesma would join Kaladze as he too was sent off.[90] The following year, Manchester United would emulate Milan by beating their semi-final opponents, Japan'sGamba Osaka, 5–3.[91] They saw offEcuadorian clubLDU Quito 1–0 to becomeworld champions in 2008.[92][93]
Corinthians won theirsecond world title after defeatingChelsea 1–0 in the final, capping off a year which saw them undefeated in international matches with just four goals conceded.
United Arab Emirates successfully applied for the right to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010.[94] Barcelona dethroned World and European champions Manchester United in the2009 UEFA Champions League final to qualify for the2009 Club World Cup.[95] Barcelona beat Mexican clubAtlante in the semi-finals 3–1 and met Estudiantes in the final.[96] After a very close encounter which saw the need for extra-time,Lionel Messi scored from a header to snatch victory for Barcelona and complete an unprecedentedsextuple.[97][98][99][100][101] The2010 edition saw the first non-European and non-South American side to reach the final:TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Brazil's Internacional 2–0 in the semi-final to face Internazionale, who beat South Korean clubSeongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3–0 to reach the final.[102][103] Internazionale went on to beat Mazembe with the same scoreline to complete theirquintuple.[104][105]
The FIFA Club World Cup returned to Japan for the 2011 and 2012 editions.[106] In2011, Barcelona comfortably won their semi-final match 4–0 against Qatari clubAl Sadd.[107] In the final, Barcelona won against Santos by the same scoreline for their second title.[108] Messi also became the first player to score in two Club World Cup finals.[109] The2012 edition saw Europe's dominance come to an end as Corinthians, boasting over 30,000 travelling fans which was dubbed the"Invasão da Fiel", travelled to Japan to join Barcelona in being two-time winners of the competition.[110][111] In the semi-finals, Al-Ahly managed to keep the scoreline close as Corinthians'Paolo Guerrero scored to send theTimão into their second final.[112] Guerrero would once again come through for Corinthians as theTimão saw off English sideChelsea 1–0 in order to bring the trophy back to Brazil.[64][113]
2013 and2014 had the Club World Cup moving to Morocco. The first edition saw aCinderella run of host team Raja CA, who had to start in the play-off round and became the second African team to reach the final, after defeating Brazil'sAtlético Mineiro in the semi-final.[114] Like Mazembe, Raja also lost to the European champion, this time a 2–0 defeat toBayern Munich.[115] 2014 again had a decision between South America and Europe, and Real Madrid beatSan Lorenzo 2–0.[116]
The2015 and2016 editions once again saw Japan as hosts for the 7th and 8th time respectively in the 12th and 13th editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. The 2015 edition saw a final betweenRiver Plate and FC Barcelona. FC Barcelona lifted their third FIFA Club World Cup, with Suarez scoring two goals and Lionel Messi scoring one goal in thefinal. One notable thing that occurred in the 2015 tournament was thatSanfrecce Hiroshima finished in third place, the best result achieved by a Japanese club at the time. This record would not last though, as the 2016 edition saw J1 League winnersKashima Antlers making it to thefinal against Real Madrid. AGaku Shibasaki inspired Kashima attempted to win their first FIFA Club World Cup (a feat never done by any club outside of Europe and South America), but were denied by Real Madrid, who won 4–2 in extra time, thanks to a hat-trick byCristiano Ronaldo.[117]
The UAE returned to host the event in 2017 and 2018.[118][119] 2017 involved the likes of Real Madrid becoming the first team in Club World Cup history to return to the tournament to defend their title. Real Madrid became the first team to successfully defend their title after defeatingGrêmio in the Final, all while eliminatingAl Jazira in the semi-finals.Al-Ain was the first Emirati team to reach the Club World Cup final,[120] as well as the second Asian team to reach the final in the2018 edition. Real Madrid defeated Al-Ain 4–1 in thefinal, to win their fourth title in the competition and to become the first team ever to win it three years in a row and four times in total in the tournament's history. Thus, Real Madrid extended their international titles to seven after winning the 2018 edition (counting their three Intercontinental Cup titles and four Club World Cup titles).[n 1]
On 3 June 2019, FIFA selected Qatar as the host of both the 2019 and 2020 events.[122][123]Gonzalo Belloso, the Deputy Secretary General and development director ofCONMEBOL, previously said that the 2019 and 2020 editions will be held in Japan.[124] The2019 edition sawLiverpool defeatFlamengo to win the competition for the first time.[125] In the2020 edition, Bayern Munich beatUANL 1–0, completing theirsextuple.[126]
In 2021, the way the tournament was hosted was changed, and the host was no longer chosen for two consecutive years. The2021 edition, held in 2022 in the United Arab Emirates due to theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football, saw Chelsea defeat Brazil's Palmeiras 2–1 after extra time in thefinal to claim their first title.[127] The2022 edition could not be held in December as usual due to the2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in the winter, and there were rumors of the tournament being cancelled that year. However, in December 2022, FIFA announced that the tournament would start in February in Morocco. Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, by defeating Flamengo in the semi-finals, became the third Asian team to reach the final. However, they lost in the final, falling 5–3 to Real Madrid, which remains the highest-scoring final in the tournament's history.Manchester City was the last champion under this format, defeating Fluminense in the2023 edition.
Expansion, increased prize money and format changes (2025–present)
In late 2016, FIFA PresidentGianni Infantino proposed a significant expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup, suggesting an increase to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and moving the competition to June to align with the international calendar and attract broadcasters and sponsors.[128] By late 2017, the organisation shifted to a revised format, proposing a 24-team tournament held every four years starting in 2021 to replace theFIFA Confederations Cup. The planned lineup included recent winners and runners-up of the UEFA Champions League,UEFA Europa League, and Copa Libertadores, along with qualifiers from other confederations.[129][130] The proposal projected revenues of $25 billion between 2021 and 2033, including income from a modifiedUEFA Nations League.[131] However, theCOVID-19 pandemic disrupted international football schedules and led to the cancellation of the planned 2021 edition in China.[132][133]
On 16 December 2022, FIFA confirmed that the Club World Cup would be expanded to 32 teams starting in June 2025.[132][134] The United States was later announced as the host.[135] The new format consists of eight groups of four teams, with the top two in each group progressing to a knockout stage.[136] The Club World Cup has long featured the continental champions from each confederation and is the only club competition held at the global level. While the previous format did not receive the same media attention as the UEFA Champions League, its competitive standard has been regarded as high.[137][138]
The 2025 edition received support from some club executives and federation representatives. Bayern Munich CEOJan-Christian Dreesen described it as the first fully representative Club World Cup and highlighted its international scope.[139]Don Garber, Commissioner ofMajor League Soccer, stated that the tournament offered greater visibility to North American football.[140]Arsène Wenger, serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, said that clubs were eager to participate and public interest had been high.[141] The balance of competition has shifted over time, as many of South America's leading players have moved to European clubs, which frequently represent their confederations at the tournament.[142][143]
The expansion was accompanied by the introduction of an annualFIFA Intercontinental Cup beginning in 2024.[136] For the 2025 Club World Cup, FIFA announced a total prize pool of $1 billion.[144] Some clubs and associations raised concerns regarding the congested calendar, travel requirements, and player workload.[145][146][147] Debate also continued around the basis for hosting selections and the commercial direction of the competition.[148][149][150][151] Chelsea won the 2025 edition, defeatingParis Saint-Germain 3–0 in thefinal to claim the title in the first tournament held under the expanded format.[152]
Before the 2025 edition, most teams qualified to the FIFA Club World Cup by winning their continental competitions, be it the AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, Copa Libertadores, OFC Champions League or UEFA Champions League. Aside from these, the host nation's national league champions qualified as well.[196]
As of 2025, there are eight groups of four teams in the group stage. Standard rules apply, with each team in a group playing the other three, and earning three points for each win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The top two teams in each group qualify for the play-offs. In the case of a tie on points, the number of points scored in matches between the tied teams is used, then the goal difference between the tied teams and finally the number of goals scored between the tied teams. If this does not break the tie, additional rules are applied.[197]
The maiden edition of the competition was separated into two rounds. The eight participants were split into two groups of four teams. The winner of each group met in the final while the runners-up played for third place. The competition changed its format during the 2005 relaunch into asingle-elimination tournament in which teams played each other in one-off matches, withextra time andpenalty shoot-out used to decide the winner if necessary. It featured seven clubs competing over a two-week period. There were four stages: the first round, the second round, the semi-final round and the final. In the first round, the host nation's club played against the Oceanian Champions League representative. The winner advanced to the second round, where it was joined by the African Champions League winners, the Asian Champions League winners and the North American Champions League winners. Afterwards, the winners of those games advanced to the semi-finals and played the European Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The winners of each semi-final advanced to the final.[196] With the introduction of this format, a fifth-place match was added, but was abolished after the 2021 edition.[198] A third-place match was abolished after the 2023 edition.[199]
Trophy
FIFA Club World Cup trophy, used between 2005 and 2023
The trophy used during the inaugural competition was called theFIFA Club World Championship Cup. The original laurel was created by Sawaya & Moroni, an Italian designer company that produces contemporary designs with cultural backgrounds and design concepts. The designing firm is based inMilan. The fully silver-coloured trophy had a weight of 4 kg (8.8 lb) and a height of 37.5 cm (14.8 in). Its base and widest points are 10 cm (3.9 in) long. The trophy had a base of two pedestals which had four rectangular pillars. Two of the four pillars had inscriptions on them; one contained the phrase, "FIFA Club World Championship" imprinted across. The other had the letters "FIFA" inscribed on it. On top, a football based on the1998 FIFA World Cup ball, theAdidas Tricolore, can be seen. The production costs of the laurel was US$25,000. It was presented for the first time atSheraton Hotels and Resorts in Rio de Janeiro on 4 January 2000.[200][201][202][203]
Just as the [FIFA] women's [World Cup] trophy had a distinct feminine note to it, so this new trophy is more masculine. It is also inspired by a classic sense of geometry and architecture, enduring concepts just like the status of a World Champion.
The tournament, in its second format, shared its name with the second trophy, also called theFIFA Club World Cup or simplyla Copa, which was awarded to the FIFA Club World Cup winner. It was unveiled atTokyo on 30 July 2005 during the draw of that year's edition of the competition. The laurel was designed in 2005 inBirmingham, United Kingdom, atThomas Fattorini Ltd, by English designer Jane Powell, alongside her assistant Dawn Forbes, at the behest of FIFA. The gold-and-silver-coloured trophy, weighing 5.2 kg (11 lb), had a height of 50 cm (20 in). Its base and widest points were also measured at exactly 20 cm (7.9 in). It was made out of a combination ofbrass,copper,sterling silver,gilding metal,aluminium,chrome andrhodium. The trophy itself was gold plated.[80][201]
The design, according to FIFA, showed six staggered pillars, representing the six participating teams from the respective six confederations, and one separate metal structure referencing the winner of the competition. They held up a globe in the shape of a football – a consistent feature in almost all of FIFA's trophies. The golden pedestal had the phrase, "FIFA Club World Cup", imprinted at the bottom.[201]
As part of the expansion of the tournament to 32 teams, a new trophy was created in collaboration with global luxury jewellerTiffany & Co. and unveiled on 14 November 2024. Worth around US$230,000,[204] the new trophy features a24-karat gold-plated finish, intricate laser-engraved inscriptions on both sides including a world map and the names of all 211 FIFA member associations and the six confederations, icons that capture football's traditions, including symbols of stadiums and equipment, and engravings in 13 languages andbraille. Space is available to laser-engrave the emblems of the winning clubs for 24 editions of the tournament. The trophy can transform from a shield into a multifaceted and orbital structure.[205] The design was inspired by theVoyager Golden Records.[206] After FIFA handed the trophy over to US PresidentDonald Trump for custody, he elected to keep it installed in theOval Office, and FIFA presented the competition winners with a replica.[204][207][208]
At the end of each Club World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament. There are currently three awards:[209]
TheGolden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members, who is also awarded theAlibaba Cloud Award (the presenting sponsor of the FIFA Club World Cup); the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball are awarded to the players finishing second and third in the voting respectively.[209]
ThePlayer of the Match (formerly known as the "Man of the Match") for the best performing player in each tournament match. It was first awarded in 2013.
TheFIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best fair play record, according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee.[209]
The winners of the competition are also entitled to receive theFIFA Champions Badge; it features an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its first-team kit only, up until and including, the final of the next championship. The first edition of the badge was presented toMilan, the winners of the2007 final.[210][211] All four previous champions were allowed to wear the badge until the2008 final, whereManchester United gained the sole right to wear the badge by winning the trophy.[212]
Each tournament's top three teams receives a set of gold, silver or bronze medals to distribute to their players.[209]
Prize money
Sporting performance pillar in 2025 (USD)
Winners
$40 million
Runners-up
$30 million
Semi-final
$21 million
Quarter-final
$13.125 million
Round of 16
$7.5 million
Group stage
$2 million per win $1 million per draw
The2000 FIFA Club World Championship marked the inaugural edition of the tournament and offered a total prize pool of US$28 million. Prize money was distributed based on participation and final placement. Clubs finishing between fifth and eighth place received US$2.5 million each. The fourth-placed team was awarded US$3 million, the third-placed team received US$4 million, the runners-up earned US$5 million, and the champions took home US$6 million.[213]
When the tournament was relaunched in the2005 edition, both the total prize money and distribution structure were revised. The overall prize pool was reduced to US$16 million. The winners received US$5 million, runners-up earned US$4 million, third place received US$2.5 million, and fourth place took US$2 million. Fifth and sixth places were awarded US$1.5 million and US$1 million respectively.[214]
For the2007 FIFA Club World Cup, a play-off match was introduced between theOFC champions and the host nation's league champions for a place in the quarter-finals, aiming to boost local interest. The match for fifth place was reinstated in the2008 edition, prompting a US$500,000 increase in total prize money, raising the pool to US$16.5 million.[215]
The revamped2025 edition featured a major increase in financial rewards, with a record prize pool of US$1 billion. The champions are expected to receive up to US$125 million.[216]
Sponsorship
Like theFIFA World Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup is sponsored by a consortium of multinational corporations.Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japaneseautomaker headquartered inToyota,Aichi, served as the Presenting Partner of the competition until the end of December 2014, when its sponsorship agreement expired and was not renewed.[217] In 2015,Alibaba Group signed an eight-year agreement to take over as Presenting Partner of the tournament.[218] The inaugural edition of the competition, held in 2000, featured six official sponsors:Fujifilm,Hyundai,JVC,McDonald's,Budweiser andMasterCard.[219]
In June 2025, thePublic Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia became an official partner of the Club World Cup, joining a growing list of multinational sponsors that includedAdidas,Anheuser-Busch InBev,Bank of America,Coca-Cola,Hisense,Lenovo andQatar Airways.[220] While FIFA enforces sponsorship guidelines during the competition, individual clubs are permitted to wear jerseys featuring their own commercial partners, even when these conflict with official tournament sponsors. However, only one main sponsor may appear on each jersey in addition to the logo of the kit manufacturer.[196]
Toni Kroos is the only player who has won the tournament six times.Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured in 2015 wearing a Real Madrid kit with the goldFIFA Champions Badge) is the all-time leading goalscorer in the tournament.
Toni Kroos has won the FIFA Club World Cup six times, the most titles for any player.[221]Cristiano Ronaldo is the overall top scorer in FIFA Club World Cup history, with seven goals.[222]Hussein El Shahat has made the most appearances in the competition, with eighteen.[223]
Real Madrid have won the FIFA Club World Cup a record five times. They also have the most wins (16) and most total goals scored in the competition (51).[224][225]Auckland City have participated in the most editions of the tournament (12),[226] whileAl Ahly have played the most overall matches (28).[225]
Official songs
The FIFA Club World Cup has featured official songs for each tournament since 2005.
List of FIFA Club World Cup official songs and anthems
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