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. The winner receives the FIFA Club World Cup trophy and a FIFA Champions Badge. 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, 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 first attempt at a global club football tournament, according to FIFA, was the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1909 and 1911, won both times by English amateur team West Auckland.
• The 1951 Copa Rio, won by Palmeiras, was hailed as the first ever Club World Champions by the whole Brazilian press, though it was not under FIFA's jurisdiction.