Did you know that the FIFA Club World Cup first began as FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil in 2000 and that Real Madrid, as of 2025, holds the record for most titles having won the competition five times?

The FIFA Club World Cup (abbreviated as FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body, and was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. 

The competition was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors, chiefly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL). It returned in 2005 as an annual competition through 2023. However, the Cup's prestige and stature have been subject to significant debate.

The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in 2000, during which year it ran in parallel with the Intercontinental Cup, a competition played by the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores, with the champions of each tournament both retroactively recognised by FIFA as club world champions in 2017.

In 2005, the Intercontinental Cup was merged with the FIFA Club World Championship, and in 2006, the tournament was renamed as the FIFA Club World Cup. The winner of the Club World Cup receives the FIFA Club World Cup trophy and a FIFA World Champions certificate.

The new format, which will come into effect with the 2025 edition, features 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation; 12 teams from Europe, 6 from South America, 4 from Asia, 4 from Africa, 4 from North, Central America and Caribbean, 1 from Oceania, and 1 team from the host nation. The teams are drawn into eight groups of four, with each team playing three group stage matches in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, starting with the round of 16 and culminating with the final.

Real Madrid hold the record for most titles, having won the competition five times. Corinthians' inaugural victory remains the best result from a host nation's national league champions. Teams from Spain have won the tournament eight times, the most for any nation. England has the largest number of winning teams, with four clubs having won the tournament. The current world champions are Manchester City, who defeated Fluminense 4–0 in the 2023 final.

In late 2016, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed expanding the Club World Cup to 32 teams from 2019 onwards and moving it to June to make it more balanced and attractive to broadcasters and sponsors.[130] In late 2017, FIFA discussed proposals to expand the competition to 24 teams and have it be played every four years by 2021, replacing the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The new tournament with 24 teams was supposed to start in 2021 and would have included all UEFA Champions League winners, UEFA Champions League runners-up, UEFA Europa League winners, and Copa Libertadores winners from the four seasons up to and including the year of the event, with the remainder qualifying from the other four confederations. Along with a new UEFA Nations League competition, revenues of $25 billion would be expected during the period from 2021 to 2033. The first tournament would have been played in China; however, the tournament was cancelled due to scheduling issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 16 December 2022, FIFA announced an expanded tournament that would have 32 teams and start in June 2025. The International Federation of Professional Footballers and World Leagues Forum both immediately criticized the proposal. On 23 June 2023, FIFA confirmed that the United States will host the 2025 tournament as a prelude to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 32 teams will be divided into 8 groups of 4 teams with the top 2 teams in each group qualifying to the knockout stage. The FIFA Council also unanimously approved the concept of an annual club competition from 2024, called the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, in response to the fact that the FIFA Club World Cup was last held in its previous guise in 2023.

The format of the tournament has caused controversy, with many clubs and national associations opposing its scheduling and accusing FIFA of prioritizing money over players' health, arguing that the addition of the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup could lead to competition overload and put players' health at risk.

At the end of each Club World Cup, awards are presented to the players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament. There are currently three awards: (1) The Golden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members, who is also awarded the Alibaba Cloud Award (the presenting sponsor of the FIFA Club World Cup); the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball are awarded to the players finishing second and third in the voting respectively. (2) The Player of the Match (formerly known as the "Man of the Match") for the best performing player in each tournament match. It was first awarded in 2013. (3) The FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best fair play record, according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee.

The winners of the competition are also entitled to receive the FIFA Champions Badge; it features an image of the trophy, which the reigning champion is entitled to display on its first-team kit only, up until and including, the final of the next championship. The first edition of the badge was presented to Milan, the winners of the 2007 final. All four previous champions were allowed to wear the badge until the 2008 final, where Manchester United gained the sole right to wear the badge by winning the trophy. Each tournament's top three teams receives a set of gold, silver or bronze medals to distribute to their players.

The FIFA Club World Cup is world governing body, FIFA’s, big play to get a stronghold in the club game. Until now, club soccer’s marquee events have been regional competitions such as the prestigious Champions League, which is organized by European soccer body UEFA. FIFA hopes the four-yearly event will be to club soccer what the World Cup is to international soccer and establish itself as one of the biggest and wealthiest tournaments in sport.

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