FIFA Intercontinental Cup: how it works and where the Libertadores champion comes in

The FIFA Intercontinental Cup is the annual tournament that brings together the club champions of the six confederations. Established in 2024, according to FIFA, it began its third edition on 26 August 2026, when Al Ahli, winners of the AFC Champions League Elite, beat Auckland FC, champions of Oceania, 1-0 in Jeddah.

The whole tournament is played as single-match knockout ties. The winner of each tie goes through to meet a champion from another continent in the next round; the champions of Europe only come in at the final, where they wait for their opponents.

The 2026 edition, match by match

The second match, between African champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahli, is scheduled for 19 September at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. According to FIFA, the Derby of the Americas, the Challenger Cup and the final will be played at a single central venue, and as of 18 September FIFA had not announced the venue, date or kick-off time of those three matches.

Where the Libertadores champion comes in

The 2026 Libertadores champions will be decided in the final scheduled for 28 November in Montevideo, and will start in the Derby of the Americas against Toluca, the Concacaf champions. If they win, they will face the winners of the African-Asian-Pacific Cup in the Challenger Cup. The winners of that match will meet PSG in the final: according to FIFA, the French club wait in the final as European champions and will try to defend the title they won in 2025.

In 2026, three of the four Libertadores semi-finalists are Brazilian: according to Conmebol, the semi-finals are Fluminense v Palmeiras and Estudiantes v Flamengo. In 2025, the South American champions were Flamengo, who won the Libertadores on 29 November in Lima and, 18 days later, lost the Intercontinental Cup final to PSG on penalties.

Where the tournament came from

Contests between the champions of South America and Europe began in 1960, with the old Intercontinental Cup. In 2000, FIFA staged the first Club World Championship in Brazil, with eight teams from six confederations, and after a pause from 2001 to 2004, when only the Intercontinental Cup was played, the tournament returned in 2005 as the FIFA Club World Cup. In 2024, according to FIFA, it took its current form, with the champions of the six confederations competing for the title every year.

The European champions won the first two editions. In December 2024, Real Madrid beat Pachuca at Lusail Stadium in Qatar in front of almost 70,000 fans. On 17 December 2025, PSG drew 1-1 with Flamengo at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan: Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring after 38 minutes and Jorginho equalised from the penalty spot after 62. The game went to extra time and PSG won the penalty shootout 2-1, with goalkeeper Matvei Safonov saving four kicks.

The Brazilians on FIFA's list

FIFA keeps a list of annual club world champions that brings together the old Intercontinental Cup, the Club World Cup and the current tournament. Up to the 2025 edition, it included six Brazilian clubs, with ten titles between them, from 1962 to 2012:

The year 2000 appears twice on the list: Corinthians won the first FIFA Club World Championship, and Boca Juniors won that year's Intercontinental Cup. Up to the 2025 edition, the most recent Brazilian title was Corinthians' in 2012.