Following a contentious FIFA ruling this week, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Manchester City—three Premier League teams—were “stripped” of one of their most coveted trophies. In a bid to increase the tournament’s visibility, the world football governing body seems to be trying to change the history of the Club World Cup.
What the best European clubs formerly viewed as a glorified mid-season friendly has already undergone a number of changes, including the addition of 32 teams, a more stringent qualifying procedure, and a hefty £125 million prize for the champions.
FIFA’s decision to start again and ignore all previous tournament winners, however, is arguably the most contentious shift of all. The Daily Mail reports that after Chelsea’s decisive 3-0 victory over victors League winners PSG at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last Sunday, they have now formally proclaimed themselves the “first ever” Club World Cup victors.
FIFA Announce Chelsea As ‘First-ever’ World Champions
The organisation have stripped previous winners of their title
FIFA officially refers to previous Club World Cup winners as “FIFA Intercontinental Champions.” As a result, teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, and City are no longer regarded as world champions.
Prior to taking on its current form, the competition was played annually until 2023. It was initially played in 2000 as the Club World Championship. It then returned in 2005. On Sunday night, FIFA posted a picture of Chelsea raising the trophy on social media with the following comment, seemingly confirming the news themselves:
“The first ever FIFA CWC Champions.”
Liverpool won the competition in 2019 and United in 2008, but City won the first one in 2023. It had previously been won by Chelsea in 2021. Barcelona won it four times, Chelsea, Corinthians, and Bayern Munich twice, while Real Madrid won it five times, most recently in 2022.
The formal designation of the Club World Cup winner seems to have changed along with the trophy. The fact that the earlier iterations haven’t been entirely discarded, nevertheless, points to a redesign akin to the 1992 conversion of the former European Cup into the Champions League.
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