FIFA Club World Cup
The global club championship, now a quadrennial tournament starting in 2025.
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by FIFA. 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, chiefly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL). It returned in 2005 as an annual competition until 2023. Following the 2023 edition, the tournament was restructured into a quadrennial event beginning in 2025. The current world champions are Chelsea, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the 2025 final.
Quick Facts
- Total titles won
- 2
- First victory year
- 2012
- Second victory year
- 2021
- Opponents in first final
- Corinthians (Brazil)
- Opponents in second final
- Palmeiras (Brazil)
Lore & Background
The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000. 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. Real Madrid hold the record for most titles, having won the competition five times. 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 the tournament.
Reader's Guide
The current format, which came into effect with 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 Africa, 4 from Asia, 4 from North, Central America and Caribbean, 1 from Oceania, and 1 team from the host nation. All non-host teams qualify through results in their confederation's top club competition. 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 the knockout stage, starting with the round of 16 and culminating with the final.
Did You Know?
- The first club tournament billed as the Football World Championship was held in 1887, with FA Cup winners Aston Villa beating Scottish Cup winners Hibernian.
- The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was held in Italy in 1909 and 1911, contested by English, Italian, German and Swiss clubs; English amateur team West Auckland won on both occasions.
- Palmeiras beat Juventus at Maracanã with over 200,000 spectators in attendance at the final of the 1951 Copa Rio, and were hailed as the first ever Club World Champions by the whole Brazilian press.
More in Honours & Records
Elsewhere in Chelsea FC
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced