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103-602: The winner of the each season of the competition earns a berth for the FIFA Club World Cup , a tournament contested between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations, faces the winner of the CAF Confederation Cup in the following season's CAF Super Cup and from 2024 onwards, along with the next 4 best teams, a place in the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup . Clubs that finish as runners-up their national leagues, having not qualified for

206-542: A banal encounter at the European Cup. —A Dutch newspaper journalist from Amsterdam , commenting on the quality of the competition and Ajax's opponent after the 1972 Intercontinental Cup ; De Telegraaf , 30 September 1972. 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

309-450: A bye in the preliminary round, entering the tournament in the first round. Unranked associations have no ranking points and hence are equal 23rd (Malawi – ranked =18th – did not enter a champion this year). The champions of Congo DR, South Africa, Sudan, and Tunisia were not given byes in the first stage although the runners-up were. Unlike European tournaments, seeding within the CAF draws

412-517: A football based on the 1998 FIFA World Cup ball, the Adidas Tricolore , can be seen. The production costs of the laurel was US$ 25,000. It was presented for the first time at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts in Rio de Janeiro on 4 January 2000. 2009 CAF Champions League The 2009 CAF Champions League is the 45th edition of Africa 's premier club football tournament organized by

515-579: A hat-trick by Cristiano Ronaldo . The UAE returned to host the event in 2017 and 2018. 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 defeating Grêmio in the Final, all while eliminating Al Jazira in the Semi-Finals. Al-Ain

618-502: A header to snatch victory for Barcelona and complete an unprecedented sextuple . The 2010 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 club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3–0 to reach the final. Internazionale went on to beat Mazembe with

721-470: A league/group stage in the tournament and changing the name to the CAF Champions League (in line with UEFA's own Champions League ). CAF also introduced prize money for participants for the first time with the initial offering of US$ 1 million to the winners and US$ 750,000 to the runners-up, making the rebranded competition the richest African club competition at the time. In the new format,

824-568: A new sponsor, which was scooped up by French telecommunications giant Orange through the signing of an eight-year deal the following year in July, whose terms were not disclosed. On 21 July 2016, French energy and petroleum giant, TotalEnergies (at the time known as Total S.A. ) secured an 8-year sponsorship package from CAF to support its competitions, including its main competition, the Africa Cup of Nations . Current Sponsors: Each year,

927-536: A one-off final. The 1966 edition introduced the two-legged 'home and away' final, which saw another Malian team AS Real Bamako take on Stade d'Abidjan of Ivory Coast . Real Bamako won the home leg 3–1 but it all came apart for them in the away game in Abidjan as the Ivorians went on to win 4–1 to take the title 5–4 on aggregate. In 1967 when Asante Kotoko of Ghana met TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of

1030-563: A record extending 12th title with a 1–0 aggregate win over Tunisia's Esperance. With the introduction of the Africa Football League in the 2023–24 season, CAF plans to keep the Champions League, as the new competition will not be its replacement. However, media reports speculate that CAF could potentially eliminate the group phase and have the competition exclusively made up of two-legged knockout matchups, as per

1133-407: A return to two-legged finals after a 24-month hiatus owing to the pandemic, Al Ahly roared back, got their revenge the following season and wrestled the title back from Wydad, thus claiming their 11th title in 2023 with a 3–2 aggregate win thanks to forward Mohamed Abdelmoneim's tie-breaking goal and successfully defended it for the second time in the space of half a decade (5 years) in 2024 for

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1236-696: A second-place finish in 2020 . These six clubs are the only sides from outside Europe and South America to reach the final. Auckland City from New Zealand earned third place in 2014 , the only time to date that an Oceanian team reached the semi-finals of the tournament. As of 2022, most teams qualify 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,

1339-611: A view to being a Club World Cup (a "club version" of the FIFA World Cup). FIFA president Jules Rimet was asked about FIFA's involvement in Copa Rio , and stated that it was not under FIFA's jurisdiction since it was organised and sponsored by the Brazilian FA. FIFA board officials Stanley Rous and Ottorino Barassi participated personally, albeit not as FIFA assignees, in the organisation of Copa Rio in 1951. Rous' role

1442-400: 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,

1545-593: Is based on performance in continental tournaments only. The 2007–08 Egyptian Premier League runner-up, Ismaily opted not to enter this competition, choosing instead to play in the 2008–09 Arab Champions League . The third-placed Egyptian side, Al-Zamalek were not allowed to replace them as the CAF Champions League regulations allow only national champions and runners-up to compete. 2008 Réunion Premier League Champion, JS Saint-Pierroise , banned from African club competitions after withdrawing from

1648-468: Is the most successful club in the competition's history, having it a record 12 times, including the most recent season and are the current African champions, having beaten Espérance de Tunis 1–0 on aggregate in the 2024 final . Established in 1964 as the African Cup of Champions Clubs , the first team to lift the trophy was Cameroonian team Oryx Douala who beat Stade Malien of Mali 2–1 in

1751-532: The 2006 Copa Libertadores Finals in order to qualify for the 2006 tournament . At the semi-finals, Internacional beat Egyptian side Al Ahly in order to meet Barcelona in the final. A late goal from Adriano Gabiru kept the trophy in Brazil. It was in 2007 when Brazilian hegemony was finally broken: AC Milan won a close match against Japan 's Urawa Red Diamonds , who were pushed by over 67,000 fans at Yokohama 's International Stadium , and won 1–0 to reach

1854-464: The 2007 CAF Champions League . The preliminary round first legs were played on 30 January – 1 February, and the second legs on 13–15 February 2009. Played over one leg after first leg cancelled due to political violence in Madagascar Two federations inscribed their clubs after the deadline, but were admitted for an intermediate round. However, the winning club could only gain access to

1957-652: The Asian 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. The 1968 and 1969 Intercontinental Cups finished in similarly violent fashion, with Manchester United manager Matt Busby insisting that "the Argentineans should be banned from all competitive football. FIFA should really step in." In 1970,

2060-526: The Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 13th edition under the current CAF Champions League format. The winner will participate in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2010 CAF Super Cup . Below is the qualification scheme for the competition. Nations are shown according to their CAF 5-year ranking – those with a ranking score have their rank and score indicated: Italicised clubs withdrew without playing. Bolded clubs received

2163-717: The Copa Libertadores , the CONMEBOL-endorsed South American equivalent of the UEFA-endorsed European Cup, and the Intercontinental 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 first Intercontinental Cup in 1960, titled themselves world champions until FIFA stepped in and objected; citing that

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2266-602: The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Moroccan club Raja CA , which finished second in 2010 and 2013 , respectively. Asia 's best representatives were Kashima Antlers from Japan , Al-Ain from the United Arab Emirates and Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia , finishing second in 2016 , 2018 and 2022 , respectively. North America 's best result was Mexican team Tigres UANL , which earned

2369-625: The UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores , with the champions of each tournament both recognised (in 2017) by FIFA as club world champions. 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 a FIFA World Champions certificate. The new format, which will come into effect with

2472-513: The two-legged knockout stage for hopes of progression to a one-off final for a chance to lift the trophy for their member association. In October 2004, MTN contracted a four-year deal to sponsor CAF's competitions worth US$ 12.5 million, which at that time was the biggest sponsorship deal in African sporting history. In 2008, CAF put a value of € 100 million for a comprehensive and long-term package of its competitions when it opened tenders for

2575-464: The 12 highest-ranked countries also enter the tournament, making up a total of 64 in-competition teams. The 12 countries would be ranked based on the performance of their clubs in the previous 5 seasons/editions of the competition (the plain definition of the CAF 5-year ranking ). The number of teams that each association enters into the CAF Champions League is determined annually through criteria as set by

2678-516: The 16 group stage clubs including preliminary stages teams, which is the latest tranche, as follows: Below are the current broadcast rights holders of this competition: * Number in parentheses show number of participations. FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA ),

2781-535: The 2018 edition (counting their three Intercontinental Cup titles and four Club World Cup titles). On 3 June 2019, FIFA selected Qatar as the host of both the 2019 and 2020 events. Gonzalo Belloso , the Deputy Secretary General and development director of CONMEBOL , previously said that the 2019 and 2020 editions will be held in Japan. The 2019 edition saw Liverpool defeat Flamengo to win

2884-439: The 2025 edition, features 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation; 12 teams from Europe , 6 from South America , 4 from Asia , 4 from Africa , 4 from North, Central America and Caribbean , 1 from Oceania , 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 a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group advance to

2987-454: The 7th and 8th time respectively in the 12th and 13th editions of the FIFA Club World Cup. The 2015 edition saw a final between River 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 the Final . One notable thing that occurred in the 2015 tournament was that Sanfrecce Hiroshima made it to third place,

3090-652: 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

3193-497: The CAF Competitions Committee. The higher an association's ranking as determined by the criteria, the more teams represent the association in the Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in. The CAF Champions League operates primarily as a knockout competition, with trim-down qualification rounds, a group stage, a two-legged knockout stage and a one-off final. At

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3296-406: The Champions League, are eligible for the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup . Egyptian clubs have the highest number of victories (18 titles), followed by Morocco with 7. Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco have the largest number of winning teams, with three clubs from each having won the title. The competition has been won by 26 clubs, 12 of which have won it more than once. Al Ahly

3399-581: The Club World Cup moving to Morocco. The first edition saw a Cinderella 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's Atlético Mineiro in the semi-final. Like Mazembe, Raja also lost to the European champion, this time a 2–0 defeat to Bayern Munich . 2014 again had a decision between South America and Europe, and Real Madrid beat San Lorenzo 2–0. The 2015 and 2016 editions once again saw Japan as hosts for

3502-508: The Congo (or the DRC for short), both matches ended in draws (1–1 and 2–2 respectively). CAF arranged a play-off, but Kotoko failed to appear and the title was handed to Mazembe, who went on to win the title again the following year. However, the Ghanaians got their revenge in 1970, when Kotoko and Mazembe once again met in the final. Once again, the first game ended 1–1, but against expectation,

3605-407: 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, West Nally, a British marketing company, was hired by UEFA and CONMEBOL to find a viable solution in 1980; Toyota Motor Corporation , via West Nally, took

3708-540: The FIFA Club World Cup winners. The 2005 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 receiving byes to the semi-finals. A new trophy was introduced replacing the Intercontinental trophy,

3811-518: 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 newspaper L'Equipe , who helped bring about the birth of the European Cup, volunteered to sponsor a Club World Cup contested by the champions of Europe, South America, North America and Africa,

3914-447: The Ghanaians ran out 2–1 winners in their away game to lift the title that had eluded them three years earlier. The 1970s saw a remarkable rise in the fortunes of Cameroonian club football, which created the platform of success enjoyed by Cameroonian football at international level today. Between 1971 and 1980 Cameroonian teams won the cup four times, with Canon Yaoundé taking three titles (1971, 1978 and 1980) and US Douala lifting

4017-711: 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 the Interamerican Cup against the South American champions ; the request was unsuccessful. The 1970s saw no fewer than seven occasions in which

4120-649: The Toyota trophy and the trophy of 2000. The draw for the 2005 edition of the competition took place in Tokyo on 30 July 2005 at The Westin Tokyo . The 2005 edition saw São Paulo pushed to the limit by Saudi side Al-Ittihad to reach the final. In the final, one goal from Mineiro was enough to dispatch English club Liverpool ; Mineiro became the first player to score in a Club World Cup final. Internacional defeated defending World and South American champions São Paulo in

4223-577: 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, which was initially scheduled to take place in 1999. Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton , a pillar of England 's victorious campaign in the 1966 FIFA World Cup , stated that the Club World Championship provided "a fantastic chance of becoming

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4326-747: The Venezuelan tournament before becoming European champions). In 1958, Real Madrid declined to participate in the Paris competition claiming that the final of the 1957–58 European Cup was just five days after the Paris Tournoi. On 8 October 1958, the Brazilian FA President João Havelange announced, at a UEFA 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 and CONMEBOL :

4429-600: The backing of its President Teofilo Salinas and the Argentine Football Association ( Asociación del Fútbol Argentino ; AFA), refused to allow FIFA to have any hand in the competition stating: 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

4532-496: 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 ( in contrast to the Intercontinental Cup, the right to attempt participation at the FIFA World Cup, through FIFA invitation in 1930 and qualification process since 1934,

4635-511: The competition for the first time. In the 2020 edition , Bayern Munich beat Tigres UANL 1–0, completing their sextuple . The 2021 tournament was won by Chelsea, who defeated Palmeiras 2–1 after extra time for their first title. In late 2016, FIFA President Gianni Infantino suggested an expansion of the Club World Cup to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and the reschedule to June to be more balanced and more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors. In late 2017, FIFA discussed proposals to expand

4738-484: The competition to 24 teams and have it be played every four years by 2021, replacing the FIFA Confederations Cup . The new tournament with 24 teams was supposed to start in 2021 and would have included all UEFA Champions League winners, UEFA Champions League runners-up, UEFA Europa League winners, and Copa Libertadores winners from the four seasons up to and including the year of the event, with

4841-525: The competition under its wing and rebranded it as the Toyota Cup , a one-off match played in Japan. Toyota invested over US$ 700,000 in the 1980 edition to take place in Tokyo 's National Olympic Stadium , with over US$ 200,000 awarded to each participant. The Toyota Cup, with its new format, was received with scepticism, as the sport was unfamiliar in the Far East . However, the financial incentive

4944-410: The competition, the O 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". Palmeiras beat Juventus at Maracanã with over 200,000 spectators in attendance at the final of the 1951 Copa Rio, and were hailed as

5047-497: The cup in 1979. In between the Cameroonian victories the honor was shared with another team enjoying a golden age, Guinean side Hafia Conakry , who won it three times during this period (1972, 1975 and 1977) Apart from the introduction of the away goals rule , very little changed in this competition until 1997, when CAF under Issa Hayatou took the bold step to follow the lead established a few years earlier by UEFA by creating

5150-519: The executive committee in December 1993 in Las Vegas , United States by Silvio Berlusconi , AC Milan 's president. 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,

5253-457: The fact that the FIFA Club World Cup was last held in its previous guise in 2023. The format of the tournament has caused controversy, with many clubs and national associations opposing its scheduling and accusing FIFA of prioritizing money over players' health, arguing that the addition of the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup could lead to competition overload and put players' health at risk. Africa 's best representatives were TP Mazembe from

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5356-435: The farthest ever achieved by a Japanese club. This record would not last though, as the 2016 edition saw J1 League winners Kashima Antlers making it to the Final (outscoring rivals 7–1), against Real Madrid. A Gaku 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

5459-564: The final. Starting from 2022, the match for fifth place is no longer played. The trophy used during the inaugural competition was called the FIFA 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 in Milan . The fully silver-coloured trophy had

5562-603: The final. In the final, Milan crushed Boca Juniors 4–2, in a match that saw the first player sent off in a Club World Cup final: Milan's Kakha Kaladze from Georgia in the 77th minute. Eleven minutes later, Boca Junior's Pablo Ledesma would join Kaladze as he too was sent off. The following year, Manchester United would emulate Milan by beating their semi-final opponents, Japan's Gamba Osaka , 5–3. They saw off Ecuadorian club LDU Quito 1–0 to become world champions in 2008. United Arab Emirates successfully applied for

5665-805: The final. The first stage pits the host nation's national league champions against the Oceanian Champions League winners. The winner of that stage would go on the quarter-finals to join the African Champions League winners, the AFC Champions League winners and the CONCACAF Champions League winners. The winners of those games would go on to the semi-finals to play the UEFA Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The winners of each semi-final play each other in

5768-418: The finals in the 1999 , 2000 , 2010 and 2012 editions. Despite the clear dominance of North African teams, Nigerian club Enyimba won their first two titles back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 . ASEC Mimosas from Ivory Coast and Accra Hearts of Oak from Ghana added two championships for West Africa. In 2010 , TP Mazembe from the DRC became the first club to repeat as champions on two occasions, with

5871-551: The first ever Club World Champions by the whole Brazilian press. 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, 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, and thus

5974-554: The first genuine world champions." The competition gave away US$ 28 million in prize money and its TV rights, worth US$ 40 million, were sold to 15 broadcasters across five continents. The final draw of the first Club World Championship was done on 14 October 1999 at the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. There they were claiming that the English weren't interested in the world championship, yet

6077-618: The first pair of wins arriving in 1967 and 1968 , before repeating the feat again in 2009 and 2010 . In 2017, the group phase was expanded from 2 groups of 4 teams to 4 groups of 16, with the automatic addition of the quarter-finals stage. The 2020–21 season was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa in line with global football leagues and competitions . Nevertheless, Al Ahly faced bitter rivals Zamalek in an-all Egyptian final (the first time two clubs from

6180-400: The first round if another winning club from the preliminary round withdrew subsequently. The first leg was played on 22 February, and the second leg on 8 March 2009. As no side withdrew from the first round, Akonangui were effectively eliminated as well. The first round first legs were played on 13–15 March, and the second legs on 3–6 April 2009. The first leg will be on 17–19 April and

6283-437: The first three editions, but Al Ahly became the most successful team, winning the 2001 , 2005 , 2006 , 2008 and 2012 editions, while Zamalek managed to be champions in 2002 . Tunisian teams broke into the winners' circle with Étoile du Sahel winning the 2007 edition after being a losing finalist in 2004 and 2005 . For its part, Espérance de Tunis achieved its second continental title in 2011 after having lost in

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6386-527: 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. UEFA, via its president, Artemio Franchi , declined once again and the proposal failed. The idea for a multicontinental, FIFA-endorsed Club World Cup was also endorsed by João Havelange in his campaigning for FIFA presidency in 1974. The Mexican clubs América and Pumas UNAM , and

6489-423: The group stage clubs, which was 8 at the time, as follows: This third tranche of the prize money from CAF showed an increase to be shared between the group stage clubs, which increased to 16 from 2017 to date, as follows: * Note: National Associations receive an additional equivalent share of 5% for each amount awarded to clubs. On 16 Aug 2024, CAF announced an increase in the prize money to be shared between

6592-493: The host nation's national league champions qualify as well. The maiden edition of this 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 a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shoot-outs used to decide

6695-642: The host nation, also failed to happen. FIFA agreed with UEFA, CONMEBOL and Toyota to merge the Intercontinental Cup and Club World Championship into one event. 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. All the winning teams of the Intercontinental Cup were regarded by worldwide mass media and football's community as de facto " world champions " until 2017 when FIFA officially ( de jure ) recognised all of them as official club world champions in equal status to

6798-462: The importance given to the tournament by the British news 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. 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

6901-436: 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 on five occasions. 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

7004-407: The league champions of the respective CAF member countries go through a series of qualification rounds until a round of 16 stage. The 8 winners are then drawn into two groups of 4 teams each, with each team playing each other on a home and away basis. At the end of the league stage, the top team in each group met in the final, in two-legged games (home and away). In the 2001 season , the CAF introduced

7107-453: The match 3–1. The final was an all-Brazilian affair, as well as the only one which saw one side have home advantage. Vasco da Gama could not take advantage of its local support, being beaten by Corinthians 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in 90 minutes and extra time . The second edition of the competition was planned for Spain in 2001, and would have featured 12 clubs. The draw was performed at A Coruña on 6 March 2001. However, it

7210-512: The matter. 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". 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

7313-525: The name of the original 1952–1957 tournament. It was usually played by four participants, with two from Europe and two from South America. In 1960, FIFA authorised the International 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. In the same year, the Intercontinental Cup rose to existence. We want to win

7416-471: The one we would do in Tel Aviv , on 11 January, for US$ 255,000. — Dettmar Cramer , Bayern Munich 's manager, 1975–1977, commenting on the low relevance, prestige and rewards of the Intercontinental Cup after his team's victory in 1976 ; Jornal do Brasil , 22 December 1976. The Tournoi de Paris was a competition initially meant to bring together the top teams from Europe and South America; it

7519-501: The only continental club tournaments in existence at the time; the competition was to potentially take place in Paris between September and October 1974, with an eventual final to be held at the Parc des Princes . The extreme negativity of the Europeans prevented this from happening. The same newspaper tried once again in 1975 to create a Club World Cup, in which participants would have been

7622-598: The original format of the African Cup of Champions Clubs era from 1964 to 1996. The CAF Champions League is open to the winners of all CAF-affiliated national leagues, as well as the title holders from the previous season. From the 2004 season onward, with the merging of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup to create the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup , the runners-up of football leagues of

7725-495: The proposal. On 23 June 2023, FIFA confirmed that the United States will host the 2025 tournament as a prelude to the 2026 FIFA World Cup . The 32 teams will be divided into 8 groups of 4 teams with the top 2 teams in each group qualifying to the knockout stage. The FIFA Council also unanimously approved the concept of an annual club competition from 2024, called the FIFA Intercontinental Cup , in response to

7828-679: The remainder qualifying from the other four confederations. Along with a new UEFA Nations League competition, revenues of $ 25 billion would be expected during the period from 2021 to 2033. The first tournament would have been played in China; however, the tournament was cancelled due to scheduling issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . On 16 December 2022, FIFA announced an expanded tournament that would have 32 teams and start in June 2025. The International Federation of Professional Footballers and World Leagues Forum both immediately criticized

7931-399: The right to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2009 and 2010. Barcelona dethroned World and European champions Manchester United in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final to qualify for the 2009 Club World Cup . Barcelona beat Mexican club Atlante in the semi-finals 3–1 and met Estudiantes in the final. After a very close encounter which saw the need for extra-time, Lionel Messi scored from

8034-463: The same country compete in any final in the competition's history), with the former emerging victorious and winning its ninth title. Al Ahly successfully defended their title for a record-extending 10th time the following season by beating 10-men Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa, but were unable to secure a 3rd consecutive title in a row and 11th title in 2022 as they were defeated 2–0 by Moroccan club Wydad AC who instead captured their 3rd title. With

8137-515: The same scoreline to complete their quintuple . The FIFA Club World Cup returned to Japan for the 2011 and 2012 editions. In 2011 , Barcelona comfortably won their semi-final match 4–0 against Qatari club Al Sadd . In the final, Barcelona won against Santos by the same scoreline for their second title. Messi also became the first player to score in two different Club World Cup finals. The 2012 edition saw Europe's dominance come to an end as Corinthians, boasting over 30,000 travelling fans which

8240-674: The second edition of the cup, won by Fluminense in 1952, was hailed as a World Champions Cup by a minority of the Brazilian press, having Copa Rio been extinguished by the Brazilian FA soon later, and replaced with another cup , won in 1953 by Vasco da Gama . Still in the 1950s, the Pequeña Copa del Mundo (Spanish for Small World Cup ) was a tournament held in Venezuela between 1952 and 1957, with some other club tournaments held in Caracas from 1958 onwards also often referred to by

8343-450: The semi-final stage after group stage, then the top two teams in each group would meet in the semi-finals, with the winners going through to contest the final. Beginning with the 2009 season , the prize money increased to $ 1.5 million for the champions and $ 1 million for the runner-ups. Since the competition rebranded in 1997, teams from North Africa have come to dominate the competition and its records. Morocco's Raja Casablanca won two of

8446-486: The semi-finals to play the European Champions League winners and South America's Copa Libertadores winners. The victors of each semi-final would play go on to play in the final. With the introduction of this format, a fifth place match and a spot for the host nation's national league champions were added. There are now four stages: the play-off round, the quarter-final round, the semi-final round and

8549-494: The sport's global governing body . The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship . It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors in the cancelled 2001 tournament , most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), but in 2005 it changed to an annual competition through 2023. Following the 2023 edition,

8652-492: The start of the competition, the 64 qualified teams enter 2 qualification rounds: the preliminary stage and the first round. After the first qualifying round, the remaining teams are split into four groups of 4, whereas the teams each first-round winner vanquished transfer to the second qualification round of the Confederation Cup for hopes of group stage progression. The winners and runners-up of each group progress to

8755-401: The title, not so much for ourselves but to prevent Racing from being champions. — Jock Stein , Celtic Football Club 's manager, 1965–1978, commenting before the play-off match of the 1967 Intercontinental Cup known as The Battle of Montevideo ; Evening Times , 3 November 1967. The Dutch team AFC Ajax claimed a victory without any problems and this match was no more difficult than

8858-402: The tournament was revamped to a quadrennial competition starting in 2025. Views differ as to the cup's prestige: it struggles to attract interest in most of Europe, and is the object of heated debate in South America. The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000 , during which year it ran in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup , a competition played by the winners of

8961-438: The tournament. However, FIFA refused each request. The first of these requests was made in 1967, after a play-off match labelled The Battle of Montevideo . The Scottish 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. Allan's crusade also suffered after CONMEBOL, with

9064-497: The tournament. The current world champions are Manchester City , who defeated Fluminense 4–0 in the 2023 final . The first club tournament to be billed as the Football World Championship was held in 1887 , in which FA Cup winners Aston Villa beat Scottish Cup winners Hibernian , the winners of the only national competitions at the time. The first time when the champions of two European leagues met

9167-454: The ultimate honour of being the very first world club champions. — Martin Edwards , Manchester United 's chairman, 1980–2002, commenting on the FIFA Club World Championship; British Broadcasting Corporation News , 30 June 1999. The framework of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship was laid years in advance. According to Sepp Blatter , the idea of the tournament was presented to

9270-593: The winner if necessary. It featured six clubs competing over a two-week period. There were three stages: the quarter-final round, the semi-final round and the final. The quarter-final stage pitted the Oceanian Champions League winners, the African Champions League winners, the Asian Champions League winners and the North American Champions League winners against each other. Afterwards, the winners of those games would go on to

9373-495: The winners of the 1991–92 European Cup , considered not participating in the Intercontinental Cup in 1992, and the aforementioned contractual obligation weighed in for their decision to play. In 1983, the English Football Association tried organising a Club World Cup to be played in 1985 and sponsored by West Nally, only to be denied by UEFA. Manchester United see this as an opportunity to compete for

9476-532: The winning team is presented with the CAF Champions League, the current version of which has been awarded since the competition name change in 1997. Forty gold medals are presented to the competition winners and 40 silver medals to the runners-up. Following the competition rebranding to its current name in 1997, CAF introduced prize money for the eight participants in group stage for the first time in an African club football competition. This first tranche lasted until 2008. CAF increased prize money to be shared between

9579-495: Was cancelled on 18 May, due to a combination of factors, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure . The participants of the cancelled edition received US$ 750,000 each in compensation; the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) also received US$ 1 million from FIFA. Another attempt to stage the competition in 2003, in which 17 countries were looking to be

9682-567: 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. However, their entry into both competitions was rejected. Subsequently, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup began in 1962 . 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

9785-554: Was dubbed the "Invasão da Fiel" , travelled to Japan to join Barcelona in being two-time winners of the competition. In the semi-finals, Al-Ahly managed to keep the scoreline close as Corinthians' Paolo Guerrero scored to send the Timão into their second final. Guerrero would once again come through for Corinthians as the Timão saw off English side Chelsea 1–0 in order to bring the trophy back to Brazil. 2013 and 2014 had

9888-535: Was first played in 1957 when Vasco da Gama, the Rio de Janeiro champions, beat European champions Real Madrid 4–3 in the final at the Parc 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 1956 Pequeña Copa del Mundo , but confirmed their participation in

9991-567: Was in 1909, 21 years before the first FIFA World Cup . The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was held in Italy in 1909 and 1911, and contested by English, Italian, German and Swiss clubs. English amateur team West Auckland won on both occasions. The idea that FIFA should organise international club competitions dates from the beginning of the 1950s. In 1951, the Brazilian FA created Copa Rio , also called "World Champions Cup" in Brazil, with

10094-578: Was in what was nicknamed the 1895 World Championship , when English champions Sunderland beat Scottish champions Heart of Midlothian 5–3. 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 the Scotch Professors . The first attempt at creating a global club football tournament, according to FIFA,

10197-400: Was open to every FIFA member-country, regardless of the continent where it was located ). FIFA stated that they would prohibit the 1961 edition to be played out unless the organisers regarded the competition as a friendly or a private match between two organisations. The Intercontinental Cup attracted the interest of other continents. The North and Central America confederation, CONCACAF ,

10300-478: Was postponed by one year. When it was rescheduled, the competition had eight new participants from the continental champions of 1999: Brazilian clubs Corinthians and Vasco da Gama , English side Manchester United, Mexican club Necaxa , Moroccan club Raja CA , Spanish side Real Madrid, Saudi club Al-Nassr , and Australian club South Melbourne . The first goal of the competition was scored by Real Madrid's Nicolas Anelka against Al-Nassr; Real Madrid went on to win

10403-425: Was the first Emirati team to reach the Club World Cup final, as well as the second Asian team to reach the final in the 2018 edition . Real Madrid defeated Al-Ain 4–1 in the final , 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

10506-419: 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." Because of the difficulty the Brazilian FA found in bringing European clubs to

10609-497: Was welcomed, as European and South American clubs were suffering financial difficulties. 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 ,

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