The Bureau of the Council has unanimously taken a number of key decisions in relation to the FIFA Intercontinental Cup™, FIFA’s annual club tournament, which will have an exciting new format with stand-alone intercontinental competitions featuring the champions of the six confederations. The FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024™, which will comprise five matches, will kick off on 22 September and conclude on 18 December 2024. The first two matches will take place in the countries of the home teams and the remaining games will be played in Qatar. For 2024 and beyond, for the first time, more than one team per edition will have the chance to play in a FIFA competition on home soil, with the higher ranked of the two clubs involved in each of the first two matches staging the encounter. This means that more people can see their club in action in a FIFA match in the flesh than ever before. In Match 1, the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off, Al Ain, winners of the AFC Champions League 2023-2024, will play Auckland City, winners of the OFC Champions League 2024, in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates, on Sunday, 22 September 2024. Silverware will be at stake as of Match 2, when the victors from the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off meet CAF Champions League 2023-2024 winners Al Ahly in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, 29 October 2024 to compete for the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup. Match 3 – officially named the FIFA Derby of the Americas – will take place on Wednesday, 11 December 2024 and will feature Concacaf Champions Cup 2024 winners Pachuca and the eventual CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 champions, who will be confirmed on 30 November 2024. On Saturday, 14 December 2024, the winners of matches 2 and 3 will meet in Match 4 to compete for the FIFA Challenger Cup and a place in the final. On 18 December 2024, Qatar’s National Day and the two-year anniversary of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ trophy decider between Argentina and France, the FIFA Challenger Cup champions will face Real Madrid, winners of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League, in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup (Match 5). The road to intercontinental glory Match number: 1 Name: FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off Date: 22 September 2024 Clubs: Al Ain (AFC Champions League 2023-2024 winners) v. Auckland City (OFC Champions League 2024 winners) Location: Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Match number: 2 Name: FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup Date: 29 October 2024 Clubs: Al Ahly (CAF Champions League 2023-2024 winners) v. FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup Play-Off winners Location: Cairo, Egypt Match number: 3 Name: FIFA Derby of the Americas Date: 11 December 2024 Clubs: CONMEBOL Libertadores 2024 winners v. Pachuca (Concacaf Champions Cup 2024 winners) Location: Doha, Qatar Match number: 4 Name: FIFA Challenger Cup Date: 14 December 2024 Clubs: Winners of Match 3 v. winners of Match 2 Location: Doha, Qatar Match number: 5 Name: FIFA Intercontinental Cup Date: 18 December 2024 Clubs: Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League 2023-2024 winners) v. Challenger Cup winners Location: Doha, Qatar