FIFA Intercontinental Cup
| Organiser(s) | FIFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 14 March 2023 |
| Region | International |
| Teams | 6 |
| Related competitions | FIFA Club World Cup |
| Current champions | Paris Saint-Germain (1st title) |
| Most championships | Paris Saint-Germain Real Madrid (1 title each) |
| Website | fifa.com/intercontinentalcup |
| 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup | |
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is an annual football competition organised by FIFA, the global governing body for the sport. First held in 2024, the tournament features the reigning club champions of each of the six FIFA confederations, contested in a knockout format in which the representative from Europe receives a bye to the final.[1]
The tournament concept is closely modelled on the earlier version of the FIFA Club World Cup, which underwent major expansion and restructuring starting with the 2025 edition. The FIFA Intercontinental Cup confers the title of annual world champions.[2] Paris Saint-Germain are the current holders, having defeated Flamengo 2–1 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time in the 2025 final.
History
On 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council approved the expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup from seven to 32 teams beginning in 2025.[3] 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".[4] 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. FIFA considers this tournament to be a direct continuation of the FIFA Club World Cup, held from 2000 to 2023.[5]
The similarly named Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004) was a club competition organised by UEFA and CONMEBOL which was usually contested by the champions of the two respective confederations. However, the new FIFA-organised competition features the champions of the top club competitions of the six confederations, namely the AFC Champions League Elite, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Copa Libertadores, OFC Professional League[a] and UEFA Champions League, and it retains the world title of the preceding FIFA Club World Cup.[6]
The inaugural edition of the tournament took place from September to December 2024, with the final stages played in Qatar.[7]
Format
The competition features a series of intercontinental play-offs between clubs from all confederations except UEFA, whose club receives a bye to the final.[6][8][9] If a match is tied after normal playing time, extra time is played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is held to determine the winner.
- First round: An OFC representative plays alternately against an AFC or CAF representative. The match, denominated as the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off", is hosted by a club from a higher-ranked country in the FIFA Men's World Rankings.
- Second round: The other AFC/CAF representative (which received a bye) faces the winner of the first round in a match denominated the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup", hosted by a club from a higher-ranked country in the FIFA Rankings. Elsewhere, the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF representatives face off at a neutral venue in a match dubbed the "FIFA Derby of the Americas".
- Play-off: The two second-round winners meet at a neutral venue in a match denominated the "FIFA Challenger Cup".
- Final: The winners of the play-off face a UEFA representative at a neutral venue in a match denominated the "FIFA Intercontinental Cup" to determine the champions.
Bracket
| Derby of the Americas | Challenger Cup | Intercontinental Cup Final | ||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
Trophies
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup trophy is similar in design to the FIFA Club World Cup trophy used from 2005 to 2023. It features a circular base with six pillars extending upward from it, supporting a globe shaped like a football. The trophy is gold in colour and has a plaque on the base with the name and year of the tournament, which means a new trophy will be commissioned every year. The base is taller than the said Club World Cup trophy.[10]
The three trophies for the earlier rounds of the tournament resemble smaller versions of the main FIFA Intercontinental Cup trophy. The trophies are primarily silver and feature four pillars supporting the globe at the top. The bases' heights are similar to that on the 2005–2023 Club World Cup trophy. The trophies are identical to each other aside from the plaque on the base which says the name of each cup, and the accent colour: red for the African–Asian–Pacific Cup, blue for the Derby of the Americas, and white for the Challenger Cup.[11][12]
The winners of the competition are also entitled to receive the FIFA 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.[13][14]
Results
Finals
| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Location | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Club | Club | Country | |||||
| 2024 | Spain | Real Madrid | 3–0 | Pachuca | Mexico | Lusail Stadium | Lusail, Qatar | 67,249 |
| 2025 | France | Paris Saint-Germain | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (2–1 p) |
Flamengo | Brazil | Ahmad bin Ali Stadium | Al Rayyan, Qatar | 42,150 |
Secondary trophy winners
In addition to the final, trophies are 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).[6]
| Year | Challenger Cup | Derby of the Americas | African–Asian–Pacific Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Pachuca | Pachuca | Al Ahly |
| 2025 | Flamengo | Flamengo | Pyramids |
Awards
| Year | Golden Ball Player of the Tournament |
Silver Ball | Bronze Ball |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) | Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) | Elías Montiel (Pachuca) |
| 2025 | Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain) | Not awarded | |
See also
References
- ^ 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 Intercontinental Cup: Key information". FIFA.com. FIFA. 20 September 2024. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022 praised for its "unique cohesive power"". FIFA.com. FIFA. 16 December 2022. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ "FIFA Council approves international match calendars". FIFA.com. FIFA. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "Media and Marketing Regulations for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. p. 10. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
Each Participating Club acknowledges that the Competition is a continuation of FIFA's annual club competition (formerly known as the FIFA Club World Cup) in line with FIFA's objective and efforts to reformat this competition, which will be renamed as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup from 2024 onwards
- ^ a b c "FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Key information". FIFA.com. FIFA. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Real Madrid claim FIFA Intercontinental Cup crown in Lusail". FIFA.com. FIFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Al Ahly set sights on further title success". FIFA.com. FIFA. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ FIFA [@FIFAcom] (10 December 2024). "Two trophies are up for grabs in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2024 presented by Aramco this week!" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 December 2024 – via X (formerly Twitter).
- ^ "Exclusive FIFA World Champions Badge unveiled ahead of Sunday's FIFA Club World Cup final". FIFA.com. FIFA. 13 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
- ^ "Real Madrid to Wear Intercontinental Cup Winners Badge After All". Footy Headlines. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
Notes
- ^ The 2024 and 2025 editions of the competition featured the winner of the OFC Men's Champions League instead of the OFC Professional League.