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FIFA Intercontinental Cup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from African-Asian-Pacific Cup)
Not to be confused with Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004), also known as the European/South American Cup.
This article is about the association football tournament. For the basketball tournament, see FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

FIFA Intercontinental Cup
Organising bodyFIFA
Founded14 March 2023; 2 years ago (2023-03-14)
RegionInternational
Number of teams6
Related competitionsFIFA Club World Cup
Current championsSpain Real Madrid (1st title)
Most successful club(s)Spain Real Madrid (1 title)
Websitefifa.com/intercontinentalcup
2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup

The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is an annual football competition organised by FIFA, the global governing body for the sport. First held in 2024, the tournament features the reigning club champions of each of the six FIFA confederations, contested in a knockout format in which the representative from Europe receives a bye to the final.[1]

The tournament concept is closely modelled on the earlier version of the FIFA Club World Cup, which underwent major expansion and restructuring starting with the 2025 edition. Although the Intercontinental Cup confers the honorary title of annual "world champions", it is secondary in prestige and significance to the expanded Club World Cup.[2][3][4] Real Madrid are the current holders, having defeated Pachuca 3–0 in the inaugural final held in 2024.[5]

History

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On 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council approved the expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup from seven to thirty-two teams beginning in 2025.[6] The 2023 tournament was therefore the last played under the previous format. However, FIFA reported that confederations expressed the need for the champions of their top club competitions to still play each other annually to "stimulate competitiveness".[7] Therefore, on 14 March 2023, the FIFA Council approved a concept for an annual club competition beginning in 2024, later named as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. FIFA considers this tournament to be a direct continuation of the FIFA Club World Cup, held from 2000 to 2023.[8]

The similarly named Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004) was a club competition organised by UEFA and CONMEBOL which was usually contested by the champions of the two respective confederations. However, the new FIFA-organised competition features the champions of the top club competitions of the six confederations, namely the AFC Champions League Elite, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Copa Libertadores, OFC Champions League and UEFA Champions League, and it retains the world title of the preceding FIFA Club World Cup.[9]

The inaugural edition of the tournament took place from September to December 2024, with the final stages played in Qatar.[10]

Format

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The competition features a series of intercontinental play-offs between clubs from all confederations except UEFA, whose club receives a bye to the final.[9][11][12]

  • First round: The OFC representative will face the AFC or CAF representative on an alternating basis (a draw for the 2024 edition determined the AFC representative would play in the first round of even-numbered years). The match, denominated as the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off", is hosted by the higher-ranked club in the men's national teams' FIFA rankings.
  • Second round: The other AFC/CAF representative (which received a bye) will face the winners of the first round in a match denominated the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup", hosted by the higher-ranked club in the men's national teams' FIFA rankings. Elsewhere, the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF representatives will face at a neutral venue in a match denominated the "FIFA Derby of the Americas".
  • Play-off: The two second round winners will face at a neutral venue, in a match denominated the "FIFA Challenger Cup".
  • Final: The play-off winners will face the UEFA representative at a neutral venue, in a match denominated the "FIFA Intercontinental Cup", to determine the champions.

If a match is tied after normal playing time, extra time is played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is held to determine the winner.

Bracket

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Derby of the AmericasChallenger CupIntercontinental Cup Final
Hosted at neutral venueHosted at neutral venue
CONMEBOL representativeUEFA representative
Hosted at neutral venue
CONCACAF representativeChallenger Cup winner
Derby of the Americas winner
African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-offAfrican–Asian–Pacific CupAfrican–Asian–Pacific Cup winner
Hosted by higher-ranked team
Hosted by higher-ranked teamAFC or CAF representative
AFC or CAF representativePlay-off winner
OFC representative

Trophies

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The FIFA Intercontinental Cup trophy
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup trophy (golden colour), which has undergone slight changes compared to the old FIFA Club World Cup trophy presented from 2005 to 2023, and the three secondary intercontinental trophies: the Challenger Cup (white colour), the Derby of the Americas (blue colour) and the African–Asian–Pacific Cup (red colour).

The FIFA Intercontinental Cup trophy is similar in design to the FIFA Club World Cup trophy used from 2005 to 2023. It features a circular base with six pillars extending upward from it, supporting a globe shaped like a football. The trophy is gold in colour and has a plaque on the base with the name and year of the tournament, which means a new trophy will be commissioned every year. The base is taller than the said Club World Cup trophy.[13]

The three trophies for the earlier rounds of the tournament resemble smaller versions of the main FIFA Intercontinental Cup trophy. The trophies are primarily silver and feature four pillars supporting the globe at the top. The bases' heights are similar to that on the 2005–2023 Club World Cup trophy. The trophies are identical to each other aside from the plaque on the base which says the name of each cup, and the accent colour: red for the African–Asian–Pacific Cup, blue for the Derby of the Americas, and white for the Challenger Cup.[14][15]

The winners of the competition are also entitled to receive the FIFA Champions Badge; it features an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its first-team kit only, up until and including, the final of the next championship.[16][17]

Results

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Finals

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See also: List of world champion football clubs
List of FIFA Intercontinental Cup finals
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Location Attendance
Country Club Club Country
2024  Spain Real Madrid 3–0 Pachuca  Mexico Lusail Stadium Lusail, Qatar 67,249
2025 –

Secondary trophy winners

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In addition to the final, trophies are awarded to the winning teams of the African–Asian–Pacific Cup (contested by the AFC, CAF and OFC representatives), Derby of the Americas (contested by the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL representatives) and Challenger Cup (contested by the winners of the two aforementioned matches).[9]

List of FIFA Intercontinental Cup secondary trophy winners
Year Challenger Cup Derby of the Americas African–Asian–Pacific Cup
2024 Mexico Pachuca Mexico Pachuca Egypt Al Ahly
2025

Awards

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See also: FIFA Club World Cup awards
List of FIFA Intercontinental Cup Awards winners
Year Adidas Golden Ball
Aramco Player of the Tournament 		Adidas Silver Ball Adidas Bronze Ball
2024 Brazil Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) Uruguay Federico Valverde (Real Madrid) Mexico Elías Montiel (Pachuca)
2025

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Straus, Brian (14 March 2023). "FIFA Confirms Four-Team Groups for 2026 World Cup, New Club World Cup Qualification". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. ^ Cons, Roddy (16 December 2024). "What's the difference between the FIFA Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup?". Diario AS. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  3. ^ Roberto Casillas (9 December 2024). "What is the FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Details, Team, How Often Does it Happen?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  4. ^ "FIFA Intercontinental Cup™: Key information". FIFA.com. FIFA. 20 September 2024. Archived from the original on 13 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Real Madrid beat Pachuca to win Intercontinental Cup". FIFA.com. FIFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  6. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022 praised for its "unique cohesive power"". FIFA.com. FIFA. 16 December 2022. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  7. ^ "FIFA Council approves international match calendars". FIFA.com. FIFA. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Media and Marketing Regulations for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. p. 10. Retrieved 13 June 2025. Each Participating Club acknowledges that the Competition is a continuation of FIFA's annual club competition (formerly known as the FIFA Club World Cup™) in line with FIFA's objective and efforts to reformat this competition, which will be renamed as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ from 2024 onwards
  9. ^ a b c "FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Key information". FIFA.com. FIFA. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  10. ^ Nair, Rohith (17 December 2023). "Club World Cup set for June-July 2025, new Intercontinental Cup in 2024". Reuters. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  11. ^ Nair, Rohith (14 March 2023). "FIFA approves 2026 World Cup format with record 104 matches". Reuters. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  12. ^ "World Cup 2026: Fifa switches back to four-team group format". BBC Sport. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Real Madrid claim FIFA Intercontinental Cup crown in Lusail". FIFA.com. FIFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Al Ahly set sights on further title success". FIFA.com. FIFA. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  15. ^ FIFA [@FIFAcom] (10 December 2024). "Two trophies are up for grabs in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2024 presented by Aramco this week!" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 December 2024 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Exclusive FIFA World Champions Badge unveiled ahead of Sunday's FIFA Club World Cup final". FIFA.com. FIFA. 13 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Real Madrid to Wear Intercontinental Cup Winners Badge After All". Footy Headlines. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
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