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- Intercontinental Cup to be FIFA’s annual club competition
- New format includes five matches, final three will be held in Qatar
- Champions League winners Real Madrid directly qualify for title match
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WHAT HAPPENED?
FIFA have revealed the format and details for their new annual club competition, the Intercontinental Cup, with Real Madrid set to play the final straight.
The 2024 edition will be held towards the end of the year, with Qatar hosting a final part of the competition. The tournament will feature continental champions from six confederations and will have five matches.
Interestingly, apart from the first game, all the matches will have silverware on offer with the Intercontinental Cup title awarded to the winner of the final game. Real Madrid, current European champions, will directly compete in the final game.
The first two matches of the 2024 edition will be held in September and October respectively, in UAE and Egypt. The final three matches will be held in Doha, Qatar.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
There are four trophies on offer during the course of this tournament. The details are as follows:
Match 1: FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off: This game will see Al Ain (AFC Champions League winners) take on Auckland City (OFC Champions League winners).
Al Ain vs Auckland City (22 September 2024 at Al Ain, UAE)
Match 2: FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup: The winners of Match 1 will take on CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly for the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup title.
Al Ahly vs Match 1 winners (29 October 2024 at Cairo, Egypt)
Match 3: FIFA Derby of the Americas: The winners of CONCACAF Champions League, Pachuca, will take on CONMEBOL Libertadores Cup champions (to be decided). This match will be held in Qatar.
Pachuca vs Libertadores Cup winners (11 December 2024, Doha)
Match 4: FIFA Challenger Cup: The winners of the Match 2 will take on the winners of Match 3 in this virtual semifinal for the Intercontinental Cup.
Match 2 winners vs Match 3 winners (14 December 2024, Doha)
Match 5: FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Real Madrid, the reigning European champions, will take on the winner of the Challenger Cup for the Intercontinental Cup title.
Real Madrid vs Match 4 winners (18 December 2024, Doha)
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GettyDID YOU KNOW?
FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024 will be a continuation of the annually-held FIFA Club World Cup.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe will have mixed emotions as he returns to Qatar, the stage that witnessed his heartbreak at the 2022 World Cup.
Mbappe had led France to the final two years back in Doha where they took on Argentina on the same date as when the Intercontinental Cup final is scheduled.
He scored a marvellous hattrick in the final to drag France level and extend the game into a penalty shootout. But Argentina went on to win the World Cup after winnning the shootout 4-2.
The France superstar will hope to win the Intercontinental Cup this time around and erase at least a few of the painful memories from that night.
WHAT NEXT FOR FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP?
While the Intercontinental Cup becomes FIFA’s annual club competition, the Club World Cup will be an all-new tournament that runs once every four years, just like the World Cup, and features 32 clubs from six confederations.
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