The inaugural edition of FIFA's annual Intercontinental Cup for club teams from around the world will feature five matches, with European Champions League winners Real Madrid set to play the final on Dec. 18 in Doha, soccer's governing body announced Friday.
The tournament, which was announced in December last year, replaces the annual Club World Cup which will now be played every four years with 32 teams from 2025.
AFC Champions League champions Al Ain will first host OFC Champions League champions Auckland City on September 22 in the Africa-Asia-Pacific Cup playoff, with the champions set to face CAF Champions League champions Al Ahly in Cairo on October 29.
The first two matches will be played at the home of the higher-division team, allowing locals to watch their club play.
The action then shifts to Doha, Qatar, where the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores winners will play Mexican side Pachuca, winners of the Concacaf Champions Cup, on December 11, a match described by FIFA as the “Derby of the Americas.”
The winners of these two matches will face each other in the Challenger Cup three days later to earn a place in the Intercontinental Cup final against Real Madrid on December 18.
The day is celebrated as Qatar National Day and also marks the second anniversary of the 2022 World Cup final, where Argentina beat France.
