FIFA Club World Cup

Lore & Background

The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000, running in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup. In 2005, the Intercontinental Cup was merged with the FIFA Club World Championship, and in 2006 the tournament was renamed the FIFA Club World Cup. Real Madrid hold the record for most titles with five. Corinthians' inaugural victory remains the best result from a host nation's national league champions. Teams from Spain have won 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, effective with the 2025 edition, features 32 teams: 12 from Europe, 6 from South America, 4 from Africa, 4 from Asia, 4 from North, Central America and Caribbean, 1 from Oceania, and 1 from the host nation. All non-host teams qualify through results in their confederation's top club competition. Teams are drawn into eight groups of four, playing three group stage matches in a round-robin format. The top two 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, held in Italy in 1909 and 1911, was an early attempt at a global club tournament; English amateur team West Auckland won both times.
• Palmeiras beat Juventus in the 1951 Copa Rio final at Maracanã with over 200,000 spectators and were hailed as the first ever Club World Champions by the Brazilian press.
• Real Madrid won the first Intercontinental Cup in 1960 but FIFA objected to them claiming world champions, stating the competition did not grant participation rights to champions from outside Europe and South America.