Qatar has been confirmed as the host of the final three matches of this year’s FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ presented by Aramco, the elite annual global club competition which gives the champions of all six confederations the chance to compete on the world stage.
‘FIFA’ stated that the final phase, comprising three games, will take place in Qatar in December marking the culmination of the tournament.
The FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ (officially known as the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™ presented by Aramco for sponsorship reasons) is an annual football competition organized by FIFA, the global governing body for the sport. First held in 2024, the tournament features the reigning club champions of each of the six FIFA confederations contested in a knockout format in which the representative from Europe receives a bye to the final.
‘FIFA’ further stated that Match 3, officially named the FIFA Derby of the Americas, is scheduled for December 10th. This clash will feature the Mexican club Cruz Azul, winners of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) Champions Cup 2025 and the eventual South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Libertadores 2025 champions, who are due to be confirmed on November 29th, 2025.
Miami (US)-based the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as Concacaf, is one of FIFA’s six continental governing bodies for association football.
The Concacaf Champions Cup, formerly known as the Concacaf Champions League (2008-2023), is an international association football competition organized by the Concacaf as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Champions automatically qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup™ and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™.
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay.
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football.
The winners of the Derby of the Americas will then face the Egyptian side Pyramids FC in Match 4 to compete for the FIFA Challenger Cup (a single Men’s club football match organized by the FIFA) on December 13th, 2025.
Pyramids, the Confederation of African Football (CAF – the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in Africa) Champions, have already secured their place in the Challenger Cup by defeating New Zealand’s Auckland City FC (OFC – [Oceania Football Confederation – one of the six continental federations that govern international football overseeing the sport in the Oceania region] Champions) and the Al-Ahli FC (Asian Football Confederation – the governing body of association football, beach soccer and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia [AFC] Champions).
The competition will conclude with the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Final on December 17th, 2025 with the FIFA Challenger Cup victors facing the top-flight club of France – the Paris Saint-Germain F.C., winners of the 2024-2025 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA – the governing body for association football in Europe) Champions League, in a battle for the ultimate annual club accolade.
The UEFA Champions League is an annual club association football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robin league phase to qualify for the double-legged knockout rounds and a single-leg Final. It is the most-watched club competition in the world.
This exciting period highlights Qatar’s continued role as a major host nation as the country is also staging the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ and the FIFA Arab Cup™ (an international football tournament for the Men’s national teams from the Arab world) in November and December utilizing the facilities, the stadiums and the infrastructure built for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
Last year’s FIFA Intercontinental Cup saw the introduction of the updated tournament format with the LaLiga team Real Madrid CF (Spain) emerging victorious by defeating the Liga MX team C.F. Pachuca (Mexico) in front of almost 70,000 fans at Qatar’s iconic 88,966-capacity Lusail Stadium in December 2024.
Both the Derby of the Americas (a soccer match played between the Champions of the Concacaf and CONMEBOL) and the Challenger Cup will take place at the 45,032-capacity Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.
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