The 2021 FIFA Club World Cup is scheduled to be the 18th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, 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 will be held in early 2022 in the United Arab Emirates.
FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 | |
---|---|
Tournament details | |
Host country | United Arab Emirates |
Dates | Early 2022 |
Teams | 7 (from 6 confederations) |
← 2020 |
Bayern Munich are the defending champions, but cannot defend their title after being eliminated in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Host appointment
Originally, an expanded Club World Cup in China was planned to be held in June and July 2021.[1][2] However, due to fixture congestion caused by the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on football, the Tokyo Olympics, UEFA European Championship and Copa América were postponed from mid-2020 to mid-2021. As a result, FIFA announced in March 2020 that they would postpone the expanded Club World Cup to later in 2021, 2022 or 2023.[3][4]
On 4 December 2020, the FIFA Council announced that the Club World Cup, using the previous format, would be held in late 2021 and hosted by Japan.[5] However, on 8 September 2021, the Japan Football Association dropped its commitment to host the tournament, owing to the possibility of restrictions on fan attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[6][7] Numerous countries expressed interest in hosting the tournament as bidding was reopened, including Brazil, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.[8][9][10][11] On 20 October 2021, the FIFA Council announced the United Arab Emirates as the host of the tournament, and postponed the event from late 2021 to early 2022.[12]
Qualified teams
Team | Confederation | Qualification | Qualified date | Participation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Entering in the semi-finals | ||||
TBD | CONMEBOL | Winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores | 27 November 2021 | 2nd |
Chelsea | UEFA | Winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League | 29 May 2021 | 2nd (Previous: 2012) |
Entering in the second round | ||||
TBD | AFC | Winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League | 23 November 2021 | 2nd |
Al Ahly | CAF | Winners of the 2020–21 CAF Champions League | 17 July 2021 | 7th (Previous: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020) |
Monterrey | CONCACAF | Winners of the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League | 28 October 2021 | 5th (Previous: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019) |
Entering in the first round | ||||
Auckland City | OFC | Nominated by OFC[note 1] | 3 August 2021 | 10th (Previous: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) |
Al Jazira | AFC (Hosts) | Winners of the 2020–21 UAE Pro League | 20 October 2021[note 2] | 2nd (Previous: 2017) |
Teams in contention
AFC berth
Winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League
Teams qualified for the final
CONMEBOL berth
Winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores
Teams qualified for the final
Notes
- ^ On 4 June 2021, the OFC announced that the 2021 OFC Champions League had been cancelled due to border closures throughout the Pacific caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and no champions would be awarded.[13] The OFC representative at the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, which would have originally been the winners of the 2021 OFC Champions League, was confirmed to be Auckland City by the OFC on 3 August 2021. The team was chosen by the OFC Executive Committee based on sporting merit principles, which used an overall ranking which took into consideration the final placing of each OFC Champions League between 2016 and 2020, and applied to the clubs nominated by their member association to qualify for the 2021 OFC Champions League.[14]
- ^ Al Jazira won the 2020–21 UAE Pro League on 11 May 2021, and on 16 October 2021 Al Wahda became the last team from the United Arab Emirates to be eliminated from the 2021 AFC Champions League. However, Al Jazira's participation was not confirmed until the United Arab Emirates were appointed as tournament hosts on 20 October 2021.
Matches
Wild card | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||||||
Notes
References
- ^ Harris, Rob (13 March 2019). "FIFA wants 24-team Club World Cup in 2021". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ "FIFA Council unanimously appoints China PR as hosts of new Club World Cup in 2021". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ "Statement from the FIFA President". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
- ^ "Bureau of the FIFA Council decisions concerning impact of COVID-19". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ "FIFA Council passes landmark reforms for female players and coaches, agrees further steps in COVID-19 response". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2021". FIFA. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ hermesauto (8 September 2021). "Asian Youth Games in China postponed to 2022 owing to virus; Japan drops 2021 Club World Cup". The Straits Times. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ Ogden, Mark (2 October 2021). "FIFA Club World Cup: South Africa to rival Qatar, UAE as potential hosts - sources". ESPN. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "Rio deve ser candidato a sede do Mundial de Clubes de 2021, diz secretário: 'Estamos nos movimentando'" [Rio should be a candidate to host the 2021 Club World Cup, says secretary: 'We are moving']. Globo (in Portuguese). 16 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "إحداها مصر.. 3 دول إفريقية مرشحة لاستضافة مونديال الأندية" [One of them is Egypt.. 3 African countries are candidates to host the Club World Cup]. winwin.com (in Arabic). 13 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "خاص.. المغرب يكشف موقفه من استضافة مونديال الأندية 2021" [Special.. Morocco reveals its position on hosting the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup]. winwin.com (in Arabic). 15 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ "FIFA Council endorses global summit to discuss the future of football". FIFA. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ "OFC competitions calendar rescheduled". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 June 2021.
- ^ "Auckland City nominated for the FIFA Club World Cup 2021". Oceania Football Confederation. 3 August 2021.