Global club football now has two FIFA routes

Club football

Global club football now has two FIFA routes

The annual FIFA Intercontinental Cup rewards the current continental champions. The FIFA Club World Cup assembles a larger field every four years.

FIFA global club competitions

Annual

FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Six reigning continental club champions
Staged every year
UEFA champion enters in the final

Title Annual world champion

Every four years

FIFA Club World Cup

Expanded 32-team 2025 edition
Clubs qualify through continental results and rankings, plus a host-country place under the edition’s rules

Title Larger multi-club world tournament

Both are club competitions—not the FIFA World Cup for national teams.

Comparison Intercontinental Cup Club World Cup

Participants Current continental champions Multi-season qualified field

Frequency Annual Four-year cycle

Competition type Clubs Clubs

How to read it: the FIFA Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup are separate tournaments. Neither is the FIFA World Cup, which is contested by national teams. This visual is part of the article Who Really Runs World Football?