The FIFA Intercontinental Cup

The tournament is contested by the winners of each confederation's main club competition — the UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores, AFC Champions League Elite, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup and OFC Champions League. It is staged across the final months of the year and ends with a final between the UEFA Champions League winner and the team that has come through the earlier rounds.

The competition was launched by FIFA in 2024 to take over the annual role that the previous Club World Cup played. With the Club World Cup itself moving to a four-year cycle from 2025, the Intercontinental Cup keeps an annual intercontinental fixture in the calendar for the seasons in between.

The tournament has two early routes into the later stages. On one side, the OFC champion enters an African-Asian-Pacific path with the AFC and CAF champions. The exact order can vary between the Asian and African champions, but the winner of that path receives the African-Asian-Pacific Cup. On the other side, the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL champions play a single match for the Derby of the Americas.

The winners of those two routes then meet in the Challenger Cup. The winner of that match goes through to the final, where they face the UEFA Champions League winner in a one-off match for the overall FIFA Intercontinental Cup. This structure means the European champion enters only at the final stage, while the other continental champions must come through earlier knockout matches.

The first matches are usually played in September and October, often in the home countries of the clubs involved. The later stages, including the final, are held over a few days in a neutral host country in December.

The schedule is designed to fit around domestic, continental and international football calendars, although the exact dates and venues can vary by edition. When a Club World Cup is also held in a given calendar year, both tournaments take place, with the larger Club World Cup played in the summer and the Intercontinental Cup later in the year.

The six clubs that contest the Intercontinental Cup are the reigning champions of their confederation's flagship club competition. There is no separate qualifying campaign. Whichever club wins the UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores, AFC Champions League Elite, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup or OFC Champions League in a given season earns its place in that year's Intercontinental Cup.

This means that a single strong season in continental competition is enough to reach the Intercontinental Cup. It also means that the European Champions League winner has a clear advantage — they only need to play one match to win the trophy, while clubs from other confederations may need to win as many as three.

The original Intercontinental Cup was contested by the winners of the European Cup and Copa Libertadores. It ran from 1960 to 2004, originally over two legs and from 1980 as a single match held in Tokyo. FC Porto won the final edition in 2004, beating Once Caldas of Colombia on penalties.

FIFA launched the Club World Championship in 2000 while the old Intercontinental Cup was still running. The two competitions overlapped for a few years before the old Intercontinental Cup ended after the 2004 edition and the FIFA Club World Cup became the annual global club tournament.

The launch of the modern FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2024 revived the name for a different competition — one that involves all six confederations rather than just the European and South American champions.

Real Madrid won the inaugural modern FIFA Intercontinental Cup in 2024, beating Pachuca of Mexico 3–0 in the final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Paris Saint-Germain won the second edition in 2025, beating Flamengo of Brazil on penalties after a 1–1 draw at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.

As of writing, no club has won the modern FIFA Intercontinental Cup more than once. The competition is also connected to the older Intercontinental Cup record book through FIFA's 2017 decision to officially recognise winners of the old Intercontinental Cup as club world champions, alongside winners of the Club World Cup.