The new look FIFA Intercontinental Cup is underway. It sees the six club champions from each of FIFA's confederations battle it out for a chance of lifting a trophy to close out the calendar year.
The winners of the UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores and the remaining major continental competitions participate with Real Madrid—the Champions League winner—awaiting in the Final.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is the predecessor to the new look Club World Cup. Whereas the new 32 team Club World Cup will be celebrated every four years, the Intercontinental Cup will continue to be an annual event that takes place to close out the calendar year.
The tournament began with the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup. It saw three teams from Africa, Asia and Oceania's confederations play at the home of the higher ranked team. In the end, Egyptian side, Al Ahly SC, emerged victorious and is one win away from reaching the final.
Concacaf Champions Cup winner, CF Pachuca, will face Copa Libertadores champion, Botagofo, in the FIFA Derby of the Americas to decide the second semifinalist. This time, the game will be played in Qatar. The 2022 FIFA World Cup host country will be the site for the final three games of the tournament. The winner of the Derby of the Americas will face Al Ahly in the FIFA Challenger Cup, for a chance to play Real Madrid in the Intercontinental Cup final.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup winner will be decided on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The game will be played at Lusail Stadium, the same venue that hosted the FIFA World Cup Final in 2022.
Real Madrid await the winners of the Challenger Cup and this will be the format for the foreseeable future. Every year, a new champion will be crowned.
Some sort of annual FIFA Intercontinental club competition has been around since 1960. Changes to the format have happened, but the purpose of the tournament hasn't. It began as the Intercontinental Cup, but in 2005 it merged to become the FIFA Club World Cup.
Throughout its history, five teams managed to win three Intercontinental Cups: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Boca Juniors and two Uruguay rivals, Peñarol and Nacional.
Only four teams have won multiple Club World Cups. Real Madrid leads the way with five, followed by Barcelona with three. Bayern Munich, along with Brazilian side, Corinthians, have two each.
In total, Los Blancos have eight combined intercontinental club trophies, the most of any team in history.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup was born with that name. The Club World Cup began in 2000 and five year later, the two merged, adopting the latter name and disregarding the former.
Two decades later, the Club World Cup will become a new competition that occurs every four years, giving way for the return of the Intercontinental Cup, as the name for the annual cross-continent competition.
The new look FIFA Club World Cup will begin in the summer of 2025. It will see 32 teams from all over the world compete in a format that mimics the previous UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup systems. Eight groups of four teams where the top two advance to the knockout rounds that begin with the round of 16.
The tournament will be held every four years, presumably as a warm up for the World Cup the following year.
The field for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is set and the draw took place on Dec. 5.
Roberto Casillas is a Sports Illustrated Soccer freelance writer covering Liga MX, the Mexican National Team & Latin American players in Europe. He is a die hard Cruz Azul and Chelsea fan.
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