Between 2001 and 2017 (with an exception in 2003), the tournament was held in the country that would host the World Cup the following year, acting as a test event for the larger tournament.
The tournament was originally organized by and held inSaudi Arabia, contested in1992 and1995 by the Saudi national side and some continental champions. Disputed as the King Fahd Cup (Confederations Winners Cup orIntercontinental Championship), it was named in honor of the then Saudi ruler who organized the tournament with the help of hiscountry's federation.[3]
In 1997,FIFA took over the organization of the tournament, named it theFIFA Confederations Cup and staged the competition every two years and recognized the first two editions in 1997.[4]
Germany (red shirt) v Brazil at the Frankenstadion, 2005
After 2005, it was held every four years, in the year prior to eachWorld Cup in the host country of the forthcoming World Cup (the 2001 edition was hosted inSouth Korea andJapan, before the quadrennial pattern was established). Considered a dress rehearsal for the World Cup it precedes, it used around half of the stadiums intended for use at the following year's competition and gave the host nation, which qualified for that tournament automatically, experience at a high level of competition during the two years. At the same time, participation was made optional for the South American and European champions.[5]
Generally, the host nation, the World Cup holders, and the six continental champions qualified for the competition. In those cases where a team meets more than one of the qualification criteria (such as the2001 tournament whereFrance qualified as the World Cup champions and European champions), another team was invited to participate, often the runner-up in a competition that the extra-qualified team won.[citation needed]
An earlier tournament that invited former World Cup winners, the1980 Mundialito, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the first World Cup. TheArtemio Franchi Trophy, contested in 1985 and 1993 between the winners of theCopa América andUEFA European Championship, was another example of an earlier contest between football confederations. Both of these are considered by some to be a form of unofficial precursor to the Confederations Cup, although FIFA recognised only the 1992 tournaments onwards to be Confederations Cup winners.[6]
The 2021 tournament was originally to be held in Qatar, the host country of the2022 FIFA World Cup, as announced on 2 December 2010 after the country was awarded thehosting rights of the2022 FIFA World Cup. However, concerns arose surrounding Qatar's high temperatures during the summer period (which also led to calls for the World Cup to be moved from its traditional June–July scheduling to November–December).[7]
On 25 February 2015, this resulted in FIFA officially announcing that it would move the 2021 Confederations Cup to another country of theAsian Football Confederation, so it could still be held during the traditional window of June/July 2021, without interrupting domestic leagues. As compensation, another FIFA tournament, potentially the 2021FIFA Club World Cup, could be held in Qatar in November–December 2021, as the test event for the 2022 World Cup.[8][9]
In October 2017, FIFA divulged plans to abolish the Confederations Cup by 2021 and replace it with a quadrennial, 24-teamFIFA Club World Cup and move the latter tournament from December to June.[10] On 15 March 2019, FIFA announced that the Confederations Cup would be abolished, with an expandedFIFA Club World Cup taking place instead.[1]
In July 2021, UEFA presidentAleksander Čeferin and CONMEBOL presidentAlejandro Domínguez began efforts to launch a competition including the winners of the Copa America and the European Championship. The idea is to have the European Championship and Copa America both be played two years ahead of the World Cup, with the new tournament played a year before the World Cup in the nation that will host the World Cup. An edition of the tournament was considered for 2022, and on 1 June 2022, Argentina beat Italy in the2022 Finalissima, a relaunch of theCONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions.[11]
The eight qualified teams were drawn into tworound-robin groups: two teams from the same confederation could not be drawn in a group, except if there were three teams from the same confederation (something that only happened in the2017 edition whenhostsRussia were joined byWorld Cup championsGermany andEuropean championsPortugal). Every team played all other teams in their group once, for three matches.
The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals, with the winners of each group playing the runners-up of the other group. The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows (regulations Article 19.6):
points obtained in all group matches;
goal difference in all group matches;
number of goals scored in all group matches;
If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:
points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
fair play points
first yellow card: minus 1 point;
indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
direct red card: minus 4 points;
yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.
The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the final, while the losers played in the third-place game. For the knockout stage, if the score was drawn at the end of regular time,extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by apenalty shoot-out to determine the winner.
^For FIFA statute, official competitions are those for representative teams organized by FIFA or any confederation. Representative teams are usually national teams but also club teams that represent a confederation in the interconfederal competitions or a member association in a continental competition cfr."FIFA Statutes, April 2016 edition"(PDF). p. 5.Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved15 December 2019. cfr."FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018: Statistical-kit"(PDF). 10 December 2018. p. 13.Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved15 December 2019. cfr."2018/19 UEFA Champions League regulations"(PDF). p. 10. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 12 May 2018. Retrieved15 December 2019.
Teams indicated initalics are associate/full members of their respective regional bodies but not members of FIFA. See also:List of women's football teams
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