The 2022 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022 presented by Visit Saudi for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th 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 held from 1 to 11 February 2023 in Morocco.
Chelsea were the defending champions, but they were not able to defend their title as they did not qualify after being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League by eventual winners Real Madrid. The Spanish side went on to win the Club World Cup for a record-extending fifth time, beating Al Ahly of Egypt 4–1 in the semi-finals before a 5–3 win over Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in the final.
This edition also marked the first time a club from the United States (Seattle Sounders FC) took part in the tournament, therefore also making this edition the first one since the 2005 edition to not feature a Mexican club.
Background and host appointment While the Club World Cup was typically played annually in December, the 2022 tournament could not take place during this period due to the scheduling of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November and December 2022. This, in conjunction with FIFA's planned future expansion of the Club World Cup, resulted in few public details on whether the 2022 tournament would take place. However, US$20 million was allocated for the Club World Cup in FIFA's 2023 budget. In December 2022, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani implied the Club World Cup would take place in 2023, but would not be hosted by the United States. On 14 December, FIFA announced the host and tournament dates would be confirmed at the FIFA Council meeting in Doha, Qatar, on 16 December.
In May 2022, UOL Esporte reported that Japan were interested in hosting the tournament, having won hosting rights for the previous tournament before backing out due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. UOL Esporte also reported in August that China were interested in holding the tournament, having originally been chosen to host an expanded Club World Cup in 2021 which was postponed due to scheduling issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, Diario AS reported that the United States and the United Arab Emirates, hosts of the previous tournament, were also interested in staging the tournament. In December, Diario AS reported that Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were the final contenders to host the tournament. On 16 December 2022, the FIFA Council appointed Morocco as the host for the tournament, and confirmed it would take place from 1 to 11 February 2023. Diario AS also reported that the final of the 2022 AFC Champions League, which had been pushed back to finish in May 2023 due to scheduling issues, would be moved forward to facilitate the scheduling of the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup. However, the AFC confirmed on 23 December 2022 that as the 2022 AFC Champions League would not be completed in time, Al-Hilal would be their representative at the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup as the reigning champions from the 2021 AFC Champions League.
Qualified teams
TeamConfederationQualificationQualified dateParticipation (bold indicates winners)Entering in the semi-finals FlamengoCONMEBOLWinners of the 2022 Copa Libertadores29 October 20222nd Real MadridUEFAWinners of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League28 May 20226th Entering in the second round Al-HilalAFCNominated by AFC Champion of the 2021 AFC Champions League23 December 20223rd Wydad CasablancaCAFWinners of the 2021–22 CAF Champions League30 May 20222nd CONCACAFWinners of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League4 May 2022DebutEntering in the first round Auckland CityOFCWinners of the 2022 OFC Champions League17 August 202210th Al AhlyCAF (host)Runners-up of the 2021–22 CAF Champions League16 December 20228th Notes
Venues The matches were played at two venues, the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier and the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Tangier Rabat Ibn Batouta Stadium Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium Capacity: 65,000 Capacity: 53,000
Match officials On 14 January 2023, FIFA announced that six referees, twelve assistant referees and eight video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.
ConfederationRefereesAssistant refereesVideo assistant refereesAFCMa Ning (China)Fu Ming (China)CAFMustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco)CONCACAFIván Barton (El Salvador)Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)CONMEBOLAndrés Matonte (Uruguay)UEFAIstván Kovács (Romania)Anthony Taylor (England)
Squads
Each team named a 23-man squad (three of whom had to be goalkeepers). Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.
Matches The draw of the tournament was held on 13 January 2023, 12:00 CET, at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé, Morocco, 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). In the second round draw, Wydad Casablanca and the winner of the first round match were pre-allocated to separate fixtures, with their opponents selected from the draw pot. The match kick-off times and venues were confirmed after the draw.
If a match was tied after normal playing time: 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
All times are local, CET (UTC+1).
First round
Second round
Semi-finals
Match for third place
Final
Goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Pedro Flamengo42 Federico Valverde Real Madrid3 Luciano Vietto Al-Hilal Vinícius Júnior Real Madrid5 Ahmed Abdel Kader Al Ahly2 Salem Al-Dawsari Al-Hilal Gabriel Barbosa Flamengo8 Ayoub El Amloud Wydad Casablanca1 Sergio Arribas Real Madrid Karim Benzema Real Madrid Mohamed Kanno Al-Hilal Ali Maâloul Al Ahly Mohamed Magdy Al Ahly Moussa Marega Al-Hilal Rodrygo Real Madrid Hussein El Shahat Al Ahly Mohamed Sherif Al Ahly Percy Tau Al Ahly
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid won the Golden Ball award.
Golden BallSilver BallBronze Ball Vinícius Júnior(Real Madrid) Federico Valverde(Real Madrid) Luciano Vietto(Al-Hilal)FIFA Fair Play Award Real Madrid
FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.
+ Man of the Match Match Man of the match Club Opponent 1 Mohamed Sherif Al Ahly Auckland City2 Mohamed Magdy Al Ahly Seattle Sounders FC3 Gustavo Cuéllar Al-Hilal Wydad Casablanca4 Salem Al-Dawsari Al-Hilal Flamengo5 Vinícius Júnior Real Madrid Al Ahly6 Pedro Flamengo Al Ahly7 Vinícius Júnior Real Madrid Al-Hilal
Sponsorship Presenting Partner
Visit Saudi
FIFA Partners
Adidas Wanda Group
Tournament Supporter
Orange Morocco Betano OCP Group ONCF
Broadcasters +TerritoryBroadcasterSBS SportSporTV, TV Globo, CazéTVCanal+Moji, Vidio, SPOTVSky ItaliaVixSNRTSPOTVMediaset EspañaFOX SportsSaran MediaDSports
References
Notes
External links