About our FIFA Club World Cup news
Latest news on FIFA Club World Cup, providing comprehensive coverage of global club football's premier tournament, including its historic 32-team expansion in 2025, recent winners, and major developments.
The FIFA Club World Cup stands as football's premier intercontinental club competition, bringing together champion teams from six confederations. Manchester City currently holds the title after winning the 2023 edition in Saudi Arabia, defeating Brazil's Fluminense 4-0 in the final. This marked City's first triumph in the tournament and continued European clubs' recent dominance.
The tournament is undergoing its most significant transformation since its 2000 inception, expanding to 32 teams for the 2025 edition in the United States. The new format will feature 12 European teams, six South American sides, and four each from Asia, Africa, and North America, alongside one from Oceania and the host nation. This expanded version will run from 14 June to 13 July 2025, with matches across 11 American cities including New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Real Madrid leads the honours list with five titles, whilst Spanish clubs have dominated with eight victories overall. The competition has traditionally served as a bridge between different football cultures, though European teams have increasingly asserted their superiority, winning the last 11 editions. Despite this, the tournament maintains particular prestige in South America, where it is considered the ultimate prize in club football.
The competition's history dates back to the Intercontinental Cup, which began in 1960 as a contest between European and South American champions. FIFA officially recognised all Intercontinental Cup winners as club world champions in 2017, placing them alongside the modern Club World Cup victors. The tournament has evolved from its original format, adapting to the globalisation of football and the growing strength of clubs from different regions.
Following the 2025 expansion, the Club World Cup will become a quadrennial event, with FIFA introducing an annual FIFA Intercontinental Cup from 2024. The expanded format has drawn both praise for its inclusivity and criticism from players' unions and leagues concerned about fixture congestion. Despite these challenges, the tournament continues to represent the pinnacle of global club competition, offering a unique platform for intercontinental football rivalry.