2023 FIFA Club World Cup
Football competition in Saudi Arabia
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The 2023 FIFA Club World Cup (officially titled the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 presented by Visit Saudi for sponsorship purposes) was the 20th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup and the final edition held under the previous format. Organised by FIFA, the tournament featured seven teams comprising the winners of each of the six continental confederations' top club competitions, along with the champions of the host nation's domestic league. It was held in Saudi Arabia from 12 to 22 December 2023.[1]
| FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 presented by Visit Saudi كأس العالم للأندية لكرة القدم السعودية 2023 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Saudi Arabia |
| Dates | 12–22 December |
| Teams | 7 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Manchester City (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Fluminense |
| Third place |  Al Ahly |
| Fourth place |  Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Goals scored | 23 (3.29 per match) |
| Attendance | 246,888 (35,270 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Julián Alvarez (Manchester City) Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad) Ali Maâloul (Al Ahly) 2 goals each |
| Best player | Rodri (Manchester City) |
| Fair play award |  Al-Ittihad |
← 2022 | |
Real Madrid were the defending champions, but were not able to defend their title after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Manchester City.[2] The English team won the edition by beating the Brazilian team Fluminense 4–0 in the final, claiming their first title. This edition marked the conclusion of the Club World Cup's seven-team format, which had been in place since the competition's inception in 2000 (with the exception of 2001 when the tournament was cancelled). It was the last before the tournament's expansion to a 32-team event beginning with the 2025 edition.[3]
Host appointment
Although an expanded, quadrennial Club World Cup was planned for 2025,[4] FIFA confirmed on 13 February 2023 that a 2023 tournament would be held using the previous seven-team format.[5] Earlier that month, UOL Esporte reported that Saudi Arabia were interested in hosting the 2023 and 2024 Club World Cup tournaments.[6] On 14 February, the FIFA Council confirmed Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2023 tournament.[7]
Qualified teams
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| Team | Confederation | Qualification | Qualified date | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entering in the semi-finals | ||||
| Fluminense |
CONMEBOL | Winners of the 2023 Copa Libertadores | 4 November 2023 | Debut |
| Manchester City |
UEFA | Winners of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League | 10 June 2023 | Debut |
| Entering in the second round | ||||
| Urawa Red Diamonds |
AFC | Winners of the 2022 AFC Champions League | 26 February 2023[note 1] | 3rd (Previous: 2007, 2017) |
| Al Ahly |
CAF | Winners of the 2022–23 CAF Champions League | 11 June 2023 | 9th (Previous: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2021, 2022) |
 León |
CONCACAF | Winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League | 4 June 2023 | Debut |
| Entering in the first round | ||||
 Auckland City |
OFC | Winners of the 2023 OFC Champions League | 27 May 2023 | 11th (Previous: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022) |
| Al-Ittihad |
AFC (host) | Winners of the 2022–23 Saudi Pro League | 27 May 2023 | 2nd (Previous: 2005) |
Notes
- Urawa Red Diamonds qualified on 26 February 2023 when Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal were confirmed as their opponents in the final. If a team from the host country had won the AFC Champions League, the runners-up of the AFC Champions League would have been invited in place of the host league winners. Urawa Red Diamonds won the AFC Champions League on 6 May 2023, confirming their second round entrance.
Venues
On 26 June 2023, FIFA and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) confirmed that all matches in the tournament would be played in the city of Jeddah in two stadiums.[8]
Location of the host city of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup. |
Jeddah | |
|---|---|---|
| King Abdullah Sports City Stadium | Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium | |
| Capacity: 62,345 | Capacity: 27,000 | |
 |
 | |
Match officials
On 3 November 2023, FIFA announced that five referees, ten assistant referees and eight video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.[9][10]
| Confederation | Referees | Assistant referees | Video assistant referees |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia) |
|
Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) |
| CAF | Jean-Jacques Ndala (DR Congo) |
|
Adil Zourak (Morocco) |
| CONCACAF | Tori Penso (United States) |
|
Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua) |
| CONMEBOL | Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela) | ||
| UEFA | Szymon Marciniak (Poland) |
|
One support referee was also named for the tournament.
| Confederation | Support referee |
|---|---|
| OFC | Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand) |
Squads
Each team had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom had to be goalkeepers). Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.[11]
Matches
If a match was tied after normal playing time:[11]
- For elimination matches, extra time was played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine the winner.
- For the match for third place, no extra time would be played, and a penalty shoot-out would be held to determine the winner.
Bracket
| First round | Second round | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 15 December – Jeddah (PAAFSS) | ||||||||||||||
| León | 0 | 19 December – Jeddah (KASCSS) | ||||||||||||
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 0 | |||||||||||
| Manchester City | 3 | 22 December – Jeddah (KASCSS) | ||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 4 | |||||||||||||
| 18 December – Jeddah (KASCSS) | Fluminense | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 15 December – Jeddah (KASCSS) | Fluminense | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 12 December – Jeddah (KASCSS) | Al Ahly | 3 | Al Ahly | 0 | Match for third place | |||||||||
| Al-Ittihad | 3 | Al-Ittihad | 1 | 22 December – Jeddah (PAAFSS) | ||||||||||
| Auckland City | 0 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 2 | |||||||||||
| Al Ahly | 4 | |||||||||||||
First round
Second round
| León | 0–1 | Urawa Red Diamonds |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Semi-finals
Match for third place
Final
Goalscorers
1 own goal
Marius Høibråten (Urawa Red Diamonds, against Manchester City)
Yoshio Koizumi (Urawa Red Diamonds, against Al Ahly)
Nino (Fluminense, against Manchester City)
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. Rodri of Manchester City won the Golden Ball award.[13]
| Golden Ball | Silver Ball | Bronze Ball |
|---|---|---|
 Rodri(Manchester City) |
Kyle Walker (Manchester City) |
 Jhon Arias(Fluminense) |
| FIFA Fair Play Award | ||
| Al-Ittihad | ||
FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.
| Match | Man of the match | Club | Opponent | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  N'Golo Kanté | Al-Ittihad | Auckland City |
[14] |
| 2 | Marwan Attia | Al Ahly | Al-Ittihad |
[15] |
| 3 | Yoshio Koizumi | Urawa Red Diamonds | León |
[16] |
| 4 | André | Fluminense | Al Ahly |
[17] |
| 5 | Rodri | Manchester City | Urawa Red Diamonds |
[18] |
| 6 | Emam Ashour | Al Ahly | Urawa Red Diamonds |
[19] |
| 7 |  Julián Alvarez | Manchester City | Fluminense |
[20] |
Sponsorship
Presenting Partner
FIFA Partners
Tournament Supporters
- Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group
- Jahez
- Jeddah Central
- Jeddah Historic District
- Neom
