Tournament Replaces Former Club World Cup as FIFA’s Premier Annual Club Event
The road to crown the world’s best club team annually is officially underway as the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup begins its knockout stages this month. The tournament features the champions from all six continental confederations battling for global supremacy in a unique format that grants Europe’s top club a prized direct entry to the final.
The inaugural edition in 2024 was won by Spain’s Real Madrid, and this year, France’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) awaits the winner of a challenging knockout path in the final on December 17. The action starts with a match in Cairo, where Egyptian side Pyramids FC hosts New Zealand’s Auckland City.
Tournament Format: The Path to the Final
The Intercontinental Cup features a five-match, single-elimination bracket. The winner of each match progresses, while the loser is eliminated. The following chart illustrates the journey to the championship.
Key Details and Schedule
Venue Strategy: The initial matches are hosted by the higher-ranked national association, allowing fans in Africa and Asia to see their clubs compete on the global stage. The venue for the final stages in December is yet to be announced.
The Intercontinental Cup is a direct continuation of the annual FIFA Club World Cup that ran until 2023. FIFA expanded the Club World Cup into a larger, quadrennial event (first held in 2025), and created this tournament to ensure an annual world champion is still crowned.
In a unique feature, trophies are awarded for winning the secondary finals. The winners of the African-Asian-Pacific Cup, the Derby of the Americas, and the Challenger Cup all receive a distinct trophy before earning the right to challenge for the main Intercontinental Cup.
The next chapter of the tournament unfolds on Tuesday, September 23, when the winner of the Pyramids will face Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli in Jeddah for the African-Asian-Pacific Cup and a place in the final four in December.
