The 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup (officially known as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2024 presented by Aramco for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the inaugural edition of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, an annual club association football tournament organised by FIFA. The tournament comprised the six teams that won the previous edition of the continental championships in each FIFA confederation, playing each other in a single-elimination bracket. It was held from 22 September to 18 December 2024. The first two games were played in the stadium of a team involved in each match, and the final three (including the final) were played in Qatar as a neutral venue.[2]
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Final stages: Qatar Early rounds: Egypt United Arab Emirates |
| Dates | 22 September – 18 December |
| Teams | 6 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Real Madrid (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Pachuca |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 5 |
| Goals scored | 17 (3.4 per match) |
| Attendance | 183,775 (36,755 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain) 2 goals |
| Best player(s) | Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) |
2025 → | |
The tournament broadly maintains the format of the previous annual versions of the FIFA Club World Cup, which was expanded and reorganised into a quadrennial tournament with more entrants, with the exception of changes to venues for the initial rounds.[2]
Format
editThe details were approved by the FIFA Council on 17 December 2023, with the format formally confirmed on 20 September 2024.[3][4][5][6]
- First round: The winners of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League[a] hosted the winners of the 2024 OFC Champions League in the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off".[7]
- Second round: The winners of the 2023–24 CAF Champions League hosted the winners of the first round for the title of the "FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup". In parallel, the winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores and the winners of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup played each other in Doha, Qatar, in a match that will be denominated the "FIFA Derby of the Americas".
- Play-off: The winners of the second round matches played each other in Doha, Qatar in the "FIFA Challenger Cup".
- Final: The winners of the play-off (FIFA Challenger Cup) played the winners of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League in Lusail, Qatar.
Venues
edit United Arab Emirates
|
 Egypt
|
 Qatar
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Ain | Cairo | Doha | Lusail (Doha Area) |
| Hazza bin Zayed Stadium | Cairo International Stadium | Stadium 974 | Lusail Stadium |
| Capacity: 25,053 | Capacity: 75,000 | Capacity: 44,089 | Capacity: 88,966 |
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Qualified teams
edit.svg)
| Team | Confederation | Qualification | Qualified date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entering in the final | |||
| Real Madrid
|
UEFA | Winners of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League | 1 June 2024 |
| Entering in the second round | |||
| Al Ahly
|
CAF | Winners of the 2023–24 CAF Champions League | 25 May 2024 |
| Pachuca
|
CONCACAF | Winners of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup | 1 June 2024 |
 Botafogo
|
CONMEBOL | Winners of the 2024 Copa Libertadores | 30 November 2024 |
| Entering in the first round | |||
| Al Ain
|
AFC | Winners of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League | 25 May 2024 |
 Auckland City
|
OFC | Winners of the 2024 OFC Champions League | 24 May 2024 |
Matches
editThe match schedule was confirmed on 26 August 2024.[8][9] If a match was tied after normal playing time, extra time was played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine the winner.[10]
| Derby of the Americas | Challenger Cup | Intercontinental Cup | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 December – Doha | 18 December – Lusail | |||||||||||||||||
| Botafogo | 0 | Real Madrid | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| 14 December – Doha | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pachuca | 3 | Pachuca | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Pachuca (p) | 0 (6) | |||||||||||||||||
| African–Asian–Pacific Cup play-off | African–Asian–Pacific Cup | Al Ahly | 0 (5) | |||||||||||||||
| 29 October – Cairo | ||||||||||||||||||
| 22 September – Al Ain | Al Ahly | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Al Ain | 6 | Al Ain | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Auckland City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
First round
edit| Al Ain | 6–2 | Auckland City |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Second round
editPlay-off
edit
Final
edit| Real Madrid | 3–0 | Pachuca |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Goalscorers
edit
Awards
editThe following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid won the Golden Ball award, sponsored by Adidas, which was jointly awarded with the Aramco Player of the Tournament to recognise the best player of the Intercontinental Cup.[14]
| Adidas Golden Ball Aramco Player of the Tournament |
Adidas Silver Ball | Adidas Bronze Ball |
|---|---|---|
| Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid) |
 Federico Valverde(Real Madrid) |
Elías Montiel (Pachuca) |
Trophies awarded
editIn addition to the Intercontinental Cup final, trophies were awarded to the winning teams of the African–Asian–Pacific Cup (contested by the AFC, CAF and OFC representatives), Derby of the Americas (contested by the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL representatives) and Challenger Cup (contested by the winners of the two aforementioned matches).[5]
Notes
edit- ^ A draw determined whether the winners of the 2023–24 AFC Champions League or the 2023–24 CAF Champions League would play in the first round. Consequently, the other team entered in the second round.
References
edit- ^ "FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024 stadiums revealed". FIFA. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ a b "FIFA Council confirms key details for FIFA Club World Cup 2025" (Press release). FIFA. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Bonn, Kyle (17 December 2023). "Club World Cup 2025 in USA: Confirmed teams, format, schedule, dates for FIFA tournament with expanded field". The Sporting News. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Nair, Rohith (17 December 2023). "Club World Cup set for June–July 2025, new Intercontinental Cup in 2024 –FIFA". Reuters. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ a b "FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Key information". FIFA. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ "Bureau of the Council update on FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024". FIFA. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
- ^ @AucklandCity_FC (26 August 2024). "Intercontinental Cup: City to face AFC Champs" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Al Ain FC [@alainfcae_en] (26 August 2024). "Official | The match schedule for the 2024 Intercontinental Cup has been confirmed" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 September 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Match Schedule FIFA Intercontinental Cup Qatar 2024" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- ^ "Media and Marketing Regulations for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024™" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "Match Report: Botafogo v. CF Pachuca" (PDF). FIFA. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ^ "Match Report: CF Pachuca v. Al Ahly FC" (PDF). FIFA. 14 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Match Report: Real Madrid CF v. CF Pachuca" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ "Real Madrid beat Pachuca to win Intercontinental Cup". FIFA. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.