A World Cup for club teams has been on the program every year since 2005, but it is questionable whether European clubs are always happy. This year’s tournament will be hosted by Rabat and Tangier in Morocco. The opening match between Al-Ahly and Auckland City takes place on Wednesday 1 February. The sole European participant – Real Madrid – will play two more league games in La Liga after the start of the tournament.

A total of seven teams participate in the tournament, six of which have won the most important competition of their football federation. For example, Real Madrid won the Champions League and Flamengo (Copa Libertadores), Auckland City FC (OFC Champions League), Al-Hilal (AFC Champions League) and Seattle Sounders (CONCACAF Champions League) have also secured a ticket.

Wyad Casablanca enter the tournament as African champions, but with the host nation’s confederation earning an extra ticket to the World Cup, they could try to take home the World Cup after losing to finalists Al Ahly from Egypt.

European dominance

Despite the busy schedule, Real Madrid are favorites for the final victory. The Madrilenians are only entering the semi-finals of the competition, so they need to win two games to clinch the trophy. European participants won fourteen of the eighteen previous editions of the Club World Cup.

For the last non-European winner of the World Cup, we have to go back to 2012. Brazilian Corinthians then beat Chelsea 1-0 in the final thanks to a late goal from Peruvian Paulo Guerrero.

Participants

• Real Madrid (Spain)
• Flamenco (Brazil)
• Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
• Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
• Seattle Sounders (USA)
• Auckland City (Australia)
• Al Ahly (Egypt)

Schedule

Real Madrid will only play for the first time on Wednesday, February 8, three days after the La Liga game against Mallorca. The final is three days later on Saturday at 8pm Dutch time.

First is VAR

FIFA is using the Club World Cup this year to test something new. The referees will explain the decisions of the video referee to the spectators during the competition. During the World Cup, the interaction between the referee and VAR is played out on the field and on television.

The International Football Federation Board (IFAB) wants to test the new event in international competitions for a year. The audio will be broadcast live during the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the summer.

All winners

• 2000: Corinthians
• 2005: Sao Paulo
• 2006: International
• 2007: AC Milan
• 2008: Manchester United
• 2009: Barcelona
• 2010: International
• 2011: Barcelona
• 2012: Corinthians
• 2013: Bayern Munich
• 2014: Real Madrid
• 2015: Barcelona
• 2016: Real Madrid
• 2017: Real Madrid
• 2018: Real Madrid
• 2019: Liverpool
• 2020: Bayern Munich
• 2022: Chelsea

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