2020_FIFA_Club_World_Cup
2020 FIFA Club World Cup
2020 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup
The 2020 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 presented by Alibaba for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th 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 was hosted by Qatar.
| FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 presented by Alibaba كأس العالم للأندية لكرة القدم قطر 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Qatar |
| City | Al Rayyan |
| Dates | 4–11 February 2021 |
| Teams | 6 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Bayern Munich (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  UANL |
| Third place |  Al Ahly |
| Fourth place |  Palmeiras |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Goals scored | 12 (1.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 24,639 (3,080 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  André-Pierre Gignac (3 goals) |
| Best player(s) |  Robert Lewandowski |
| Fair play award |  Al-Duhail |
← 2019 2021 → | |
The event was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[1] as the AFC, CONMEBOL, and CONCACAF champions would not have been decided in time for the tournament. Originally to be held in December 2020, on 17 November of the same year FIFA announced that the competition would be played between 1 and 11 February 2021.[2]
Originally seven teams were to compete in the tournament. However, OFC's representatives Auckland City withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities. As a result, only six teams competed, and the first round match, originally scheduled on 1 February 2021, was awarded as a 3–0 win to their first round opponents, host Qatar's representatives Al-Duhail, who advanced automatically to the second round on 4 February 2021.[3]
Defending champions Liverpool did not qualify as they were eliminated in the round of 16 of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League. The eventual winners of that competition, Bayern Munich, went on to win the Club World Cup for a second time, beating Al Ahly 2–0 in the semi-finals, before a 1–0 win over UANL in the final. In winning the title, Bayern Munich became only the second club in European football history (after Barcelona in 2009) to win all six competitions they entered (commonly known as a sextuple) in a single calendar year.[4]
With proposals for an expanded Club World Cup, FIFA delayed the announcement of a host. On 28 May 2019,[5] FIFA announced that the 2019 and 2020 tournament host would be appointed at the FIFA Council meeting in Paris, France, on 3 June 2019.[6]
Qatar was appointed as the host for the 2019 and 2020 tournaments on 3 June 2019, serving as test events ahead of their hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The tournament retained its original format ahead of the scheduled revamp.[7]
| Team | Confederation | Qualification | Qualified date | Participation (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entering in the semi-finals | ||||
| Bayern Munich |
UEFA | Winners of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League | 23 August 2020[8] | 2nd (Previous: 2013) |
| Palmeiras |
CONMEBOL | Winners of the 2020 Copa Libertadores | 30 January 2021[9] | 1st |
| Entering in the second round | ||||
| Al Ahly |
CAF | Winners of the 2019–20 CAF Champions League | 27 November 2020[10] | 6th (Previous: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013) |
 Ulsan Hyundai |
AFC | Winners of the 2020 AFC Champions League | 19 December 2020[11] | 2nd (Previous: 2012) |
| UANL |
CONCACAF | Winners of the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League | 22 December 2020[12] | 1st |
| Entering in the first round | ||||
| Al-Duhail |
AFC (host) | Winners of the 2019–20 Qatar Stars League | 27 September 2020[note 1] | 1st |
 |
OFC | Nominated by OFC[note 3] | 19 November 2020 | 10th (planned) (Previous: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) |
Notes
- Al-Duhail won the 2019–20 Qatar Stars League on 21 August 2020. Their participation was officially confirmed on 27 September 2020 after Al-Sadd became the last team from Qatar to be eliminated from the 2020 AFC Champions League.
- On 15 January 2021, FIFA announced that Auckland City had withdrawn from the competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities.[3]
- On 4 September 2020, the Oceania Football Confederation announced that the 2020 OFC Champions League was abandoned due to the border and travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and no champions would be awarded.[13] The OFC representative at the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, which would have originally been the winners of the 2020 OFC Champions League, was confirmed to be Auckland City on 19 November 2020. The team was chosen by the OFC Executive Committee based on the principles within the competition regulations of the OFC Champions League, which established a ranking of each team after the group stage, where Auckland City were ranked first.[14]
The matches were played in the city of Al Rayyan, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and Education City Stadium; both 40,000-seat venues which would later host matches at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[15] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar, attendance was limited to only 30% of the stadiums' seating capacity.[16] A third stadium in Al Rayyan, Khalifa International Stadium, would originally have hosted two matches, but following the withdrawal of Auckland City and the subsequent revision of the match schedule, it was not used for the tournament.[17][15][18]
Seven referees, twelve assistant referees, and seven video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.[19][20] Brazilian referee Edina Alves Batista became the first woman to officiate at a senior FIFA men's tournament.[21]
| Confederation | Referees | Assistant referees | Video assistant referees |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC |  Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed |
|
Khamis Al-Marri |
| CAF |  Maguette Ndiaye |
|
 Rédouane Jiyed |
| CONCACAF |  Mario Escobar |
|
 Drew Fischer |
| CONMEBOL | Edina Alves Batista |
|
|
 Esteban Ostojich[note 1] |
| ||
| OFC |  Abdelkader Zitouni |
||
| UEFA |  Danny Makkelie |
|
Each team had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers). Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.[23]
The match schedule was announced on 23 December 2020,[17] with a revised schedule with change of venues announced on 18 January 2021.[15] The draw of the tournament was held on 19 January 2021, 16:00 CET (UTC+1), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland, to decide the matchups of the second round (between the first round winner and teams from AFC, CAF and CONCACAF), and the opponents of the two second round winners in the semi-finals (against teams from CONMEBOL and UEFA). At the time of the draw, the identity of the CONMEBOL team was not known.[24][25]
If a match was tied after normal playing time:[23]
- 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 matches for fifth place and third place, no extra time was played, and a penalty shoot-out was held to determine the winner.
| First round | Second round | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 1 February – Al Rayyan (ABA) | ||||||||||||||
| Al-Duhail (awd.)[note 2] | 3 | 4 February – Al Rayyan (Education) | ||||||||||||
| Auckland City | 0 | Al-Duhail | 0 | 8 February – Al Rayyan (ABA) | ||||||||||
| Al Ahly | 1 | Al Ahly | 0 | |||||||||||
| Bayern Munich | 2 | 11 February – Al Rayyan (Education) | ||||||||||||
| Bayern Munich | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 7 February – Al Rayyan (Education) | Tigres | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 February – Al Rayyan (ABA) | Palmeiras | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Tigres | 2 | Tigres | 1 | |||||||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Match for fifth place | Match for third place | |||||||||||||
| 7 February – Al Rayyan (ABA) | 11 February – Al Rayyan (Education) | |||||||||||||
| Ulsan Hyundai | 1 | Al Ahly (p) | 0 (3) | |||||||||||
| Al-Duhail | 3 | Palmeiras | 0 (2) | |||||||||||
All times are listed in AST (UTC+3).[26]
First round
Second round
Match for fifth place
Semi-finals
Match for third place
Final
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time were counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-out were counted as draws.
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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich won the Golden Ball award, sponsored by Adidas, which is jointly awarded with the Alibaba Cloud Award to recognise the player of the tournament.[33][34]
| Adidas Golden Ball Alibaba Cloud Award |
Adidas Silver Ball | Adidas Bronze Ball |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) |
André-Pierre Gignac (UANL) |
Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) |
| FIFA Fair Play Award | ||
| Al-Duhail | ||
FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.[35]
| Match | Man of the match | Club | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | André-Pierre Gignac | UANL | Ulsan Hyundai |
| 3 | Ayman Ashraf | Al Ahly | Al-Duhail |
| 4 |  Edmilson | Al-Duhail | Ulsan Hyundai |
| 5 |  Luis Quiñones | UANL | Palmeiras |
| 6 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | Al Ahly |
| 7 | Mohamed El Shenawy | Al Ahly | Palmeiras |
| 8 | Joshua Kimmich | Bayern Munich | UANL |
- Uruguayan referee Leodán González was replaced by Esteban Ostojich for health reasons.[22]
- Dunbar, Graham (19 September 2020). "Pandemic disrupting FIFA's World Cup, Club World Cup program". Associated Press News. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2020 and women's youth tournaments". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- "Auckland City FC withdraw from FIFA Club World Cup". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- "Pavard completes sextuple for dominant Bayern". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- "FIFA Council meeting agenda now available". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- "Agenda of meeting no. 10 of the FIFA Council" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 28 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- "FIFA Council appoints Qatar as host of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and 2020". FIFA.com (Press release). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- "Bayern crowned champions of Europe". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 August 2020.
- "Palmeiras complete Club World Cup line-up". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 30 January 2021.
- "Al Ahly conquer Africa, clinch Club World Cup ticket". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 28 November 2020.
- "Ulsan edge Persepolis to claim Asian crown". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020.
- "Tigres edge LAFC to book Club World Cup ticket". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 December 2020.
- "OFC Champions League 2020 cancelled". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 September 2020.
- "Auckland City nominated for CWC". Oceania Football Confederation. 19 November 2020.
- "Education City and Ahmad Bin Ali stadiums to host FIFA Club World Cup 2020". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- "Security preparations for FIFA Club World Cup complete". The Peninsula. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- "Education City, Ahmad Bin Ali and Khalifa International to host FIFA Club World Cup matches". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 December 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020: Match schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 December 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "Match officials for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 appointed". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 – List of Appointed Match Officials" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- "Groundbreaking Edina Alves calls Club World Cup selection 'dream come true'". The Japan Times. 9 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- Fédération Internationale de Football Association [@fifamedia] (26 January 2021). "The FIFA Referees Committee has replaced referee Leodan Gonzalez from Uruguay for the #ClubWC, due to health reasons. His compatriot Esteban Ostojich will now travel for the tournament" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021 – via Twitter.
- "Watch LIVE: FIFA Club World Cup Official Draw". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 January 2021.
- "Draw lays out path to FIFA Club World Cup glory". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 19 January 2021.
- "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020: Match schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- "UANL vs. Ulsan Hyundai". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 February 2021. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- "Ulsan Hyundai vs. Al-Duhail". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 7 February 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- "Palmeiras vs. UANL". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 7 February 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- "Al Ahly vs. Bayern Munich". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 8 February 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- "Al Ahly vs. Palmeiras". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- "Bayern Munich vs. UANL". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- "Awards". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- "Lewandowski named tournament's best player". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- "Alibaba Cloud Match Award winners". FIFA. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.