With FIFA moving its newly expanded Club World Cup to a four-year cycle in the hope of making it equivalent to its far more established international sister competition, the move has opened a gap for an annual competition.
In place of the formerly-annual Club World Cup, a new competition is being established known as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, starting with the 2024 competition.
The tournament will be contested annually and feature many of the same characteristics of the Club World Cup’s former iteration, with a few tweaks to its schedule, hosting and competition components.
The Sporting News details everything we know about the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup, which debuts in 2024, with the newly minted Club World Cup begins in the summer of 2025.
MORE: Club World Cup 2023: Fixtures, results, schedule
What is the FIFA Intercontinental Cup?
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup, officially known as the “Coupe Intercontinentale de la FIFA,” is meant to replace the Club World Cup as the annual global club championship pitting each continent’s title winners against each another.
With the Club World Cup moving to a four-year cycle – one year before its international sister competition the FIFA World Cup – the world football governing body did not wish to lose its annual tournament, crafting a new competition to replace the one lost to expansion.
The Intercontinental Cup will pit all of the world’s continental title winners from the previous calendar year against one another in a slightly reworked single-elimination tournament.
FIFA Intercontinental Cup format
In the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the six global continental champions from the previous calendar year will play through a single-elimination knockout tournament. This is slightly different from the old Club World Cup which featured seven participants, as there will no longer be a club from the host nation.
Unlike the current Club World Cup, where the CONMEBOL (South American) and UEFA (European) champions are given byes to the semifinals, the UEFA champion will be immediately awarded a place in the Intercontinental Cup final, against the qualifier who emerges from the earlier rounds of the competition.
The competition will be formatted as follows:
Round 1:
- AFC Champions League winner (Asian) OR* CAF Champions League winner (African) vs. OFC Champions League winner (Oceanic)
Round 2:
- Round 1 winner vs. AFC Champions League winner OR* CAF Champions League winner
- CONCACAF Champions Cup winner (Northern American, Central American and Caribbean) vs. CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores winner
Playoff:
- Round 2 winner vs. Round 2 winner
Final:
- Playoff winner vs. UEFA Champions League winner
* The AFC Champions League winner and CAF Champions League winner will rotate Round 1 and Round 2 qualification on an annual basis.
MORE: Club World Cup 2025 in USA: Confirmed teams, format, schedule, dates
When is the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup?
Unlike the previous iteration of the Club World Cup before it, Intercontinental Cup matches are sprinkled throughout a number of months to fit the games into the busy football calendar.
However, like the Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup finishes up in December. This year’s final will be on December 18, 2024, with the playoff match on December 14.
2024 Intercontinental Cup fixtures, results
First Round:
| Date | Match | Result | Location |
| Sep. 22, 2024 | African-Asian-Pacific playoff | Al Ain 6-2 Auckland City | Al Ain, UAE |
Second Round:
| Date | Match | Result | Location |
| Oct. 29, 2024 | African-Asian Pacific Cup | Al Ahly 3-0 Al Ain | Cairo, Egypt |
| Dec. 11, 2024 | Derby of the Americas | Botafogo 0-3 Pachuca | Doha, Qatar |
Playoff Round:
| Date | Match | Result | Location |
| Dec. 14, 2024 | Challenger Cup | Pachuca 0-0 Al Ahly Pachuca adv. 6-5 on pens |
Doha, Qatar |
Final:
| Date | Match | Result | Location |
| Dec. 18, 2024 | Intercontinental Cup final | Real Madrid vs. Pachuca | Lusail, Qatar |
Who will host the FIFA Intercontinental Cup?
The earlier rounds of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup will be hosted by one of the participants. The Round 1 match will be hosted by the AFC or CAF participant.
As the competition progresses, the later rounds are held at a neutral venue. 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar emerged as the site of the 2024 Intercontinental Cup, with the final three matches being hosted in the Arab country.
In Round 2, the AFC or CAF participant with the bye will host their fixture, while the other end of Round 2 will see hosting duties alternate between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL each year.
What happened to the Club World Cup?
The FIFA Club World Cup has been expanded and moved to a four-year cycle, to be held the summer before that cycle’s World Cup.
Starting with the 2025 edition, the Club World Cup will feature 32 clubs from all across the world battling for supremacy in a tournament that will feel similar in structure and execution as the original FIFA World Cup reserved for national teams.
The United States will host the first revamped Club World Cup, a year prior to the 2026 World Cup where they will also serve as primary hosts alongside Canada and Mexico.
