Malcolm Bailey's Football Blog: THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP

Wednesday 20 December 2023

THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP

The FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 presented by Visit Saudi for sponsorship reasons, is the 20th edition of the competition, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions. The tournament is being played in Saudi Arabia from 12 to 22 December 2023. It is the last seven-team Club World Cup before the tournament is expanded to 32 teams in 2025. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship.

Real Madrid, winners in the past 5 times, are the defending champions, but they will not be able to defend their title after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2022-3 UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Manchester City. City meet Brazil's Fluminese, winners of the continent's 64th 2023 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores....South American champions. They beat the Argentine's Boca Juniors.

Liverpool (2019), Man U (2008) and Chelsea (2021) have also won it.

Although an expanded, quadrennial Club World Cup is planned for 2025, FIFA confirmed on 13 February 2023 that a 2023 tournament would be held using the previous seven-team format. Earlier that month, UOL Esporte reported that Saudi Arabia were interested in hosting the 2023 and 2024 Club World Cup tournaments. On 14 February, the FIFA Council confirmed Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2023 tournament.

King Abdullah Sports City, is a multi-use stadium and sports' city located 30 kilometers north of Jeddah. The city was named after Abdullah, King of Saudi Arabia when the stadium opened.

The main stadium (King Abdullah International Stadium) is used for football, reaching a full capacity of 62,241 spectators. It is the biggest stadium in Jeddah, and the second biggest in Saudi Arabia, coming after Riyadh's King Fadh Stadium. Additionally, it is the 10th biggest stadium in the Arab World, and one of the kargest in Asia. Surrounding the main stadium are smaller sports venues. It also hosts athletics

Clubs come from: AFC Champions League (Asia), CAF Champions League (Africa), CONCACAF Champions Cup (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL Libertadores (South America), OFC Champions League (Oceania) and UEFA Champions League (Europe), along with the host nation's national champions.