The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The first edition is scheduled to take place in 2024. The competition features the club champions of the six confederations of FIFA, and is played as a knockout tournament with the European team receiving a bye to the final.[1]
| Organising body | FIFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 14 March 2023 |
| Region | International |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Related competitions | FIFA Club World Cup |
| Website | fifa.com/intercontinentalcup |
 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup | |
History
editOn 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council approved the expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup from seven to thirty-two teams beginning in 2025.[2] The 2023 tournament was therefore the last played under the previous format. However, FIFA reported that confederations expressed the need for the champions of their top club competitions to still play each other annually to "stimulate competitiveness".[3] Therefore, on 14 March 2023, the FIFA Council approved a concept for an annual club competition beginning in 2024, later named as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. It will feature the champions of the top club competitions of the six confederations of FIFA, namely the AFC Champions League Elite, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Copa Libertadores, OFC Champions League and UEFA Champions League.
The inaugural edition of the tournament is scheduled to take place from September to December 2024.[4]
Format
editThe competition features a series of intercontinental play-offs between clubs from all confederations except UEFA, whose club receives a bye to the final.[5][6][7]
- First round: The OFC representative will face the AFC or CAF representative on an alternating basis (a draw for the 2024 edition determined the AFC representative will play in the first round of even-numbered years). The match, denominated as the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off", is hosted by the higher-ranked club in the FIFA rankings.
- Second round: The other AFC/CAF representative (which received a bye) will face the winners of the first round in a match denominated the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup", hosted by the higher-ranked club in the FIFA rankings. Elsewhere, the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF representatives will face at a neutral venue in a match denominated the "FIFA Derby of the Americas".
- Play-off: The two second round winners will face at a neutral venue, in a match denominated the "FIFA Challenger Cup".
- Final: The play-off winners will face the UEFA representative at a neutral venue, in a match denominated the "FIFA Intercontinental Cup", to determine the champions.
Bracket
edit| Derby of the Americas | Challenger Cup | Intercontinental Cup | ||||||||||||||||
| Hosted at neutral venue | Hosted at neutral venue | |||||||||||||||||
| CONMEBOL representative | UEFA representative | |||||||||||||||||
| Hosted at neutral venue | ||||||||||||||||||
| CONCACAF representative | Challenger Cup winner | |||||||||||||||||
| Derby of the Americas winner | ||||||||||||||||||
| African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off | African–Asian–Pacific Cup | African–Asian–Pacific Cup winner | ||||||||||||||||
| Hosted by higher-ranked team | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hosted by higher-ranked team | AFC or CAF representative | |||||||||||||||||
| AFC or CAF representative | Play-off winner | |||||||||||||||||
| OFC representative | ||||||||||||||||||
Results
edit| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Location | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Club | Club | Country | |||||
| 2024 | v | Lusail Stadium | Lusail, Qatar | |||||
Regional trophy winners
editIn addition to the final, trophies will be awarded to the winning teams of the African–Asian–Pacific Cup (contested by the AFC, CAF and OFC representatives), Derby of the Americas (contested by the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL representatives) and Challenger Cup (contested by the winners of the two aforementioned matches).[7]
| Year | Challenger Cup | Derby of the Americas | African–Asian–Pacific Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trophy |  | ||
| 2024 |  Al Ahly
|
References
edit- ^ Straus, Brian (14 March 2023). "FIFA Confirms Four-Team Groups for 2026 World Cup, New Club World Cup Qualification". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022 praised for its "unique cohesive power"". FIFA. 16 December 2022. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ "FIFA Council approves international match calendars". FIFA. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ Nair, Rohith (17 December 2023). "Club World Cup set for June-July 2025, new Intercontinental Cup in 2024". Reuters. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Nair, Rohith (14 March 2023). "FIFA approves 2026 World Cup format with record 104 matches". Reuters. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "World Cup 2026: Fifa switches back to four-team group format". BBC Sport. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ a b "FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Key information". FIFA. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.