The 2021 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 18th 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 3 to 12 February 2022 in the United Arab Emirates.[1]
Defending champions Bayern Munich did not qualify as they were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League. The eventual winners of that competition, Chelsea, won the Club World Cup for the first time, beating Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the semi-finals before requiring extra time to claim a 2–1 win over Brazilian side Palmeiras in the final.
On 4 December 2020, the FIFA Council announced that the Club World Cup, using the previous format, would be held in late 2021 and hosted by Japan.[7] However, on 8September 2021, the Japan Football Association dropped its commitment to host the tournament, owing to the possibility of restrictions on fan attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[8][9] Numerous countries expressed interest in hosting the tournament as bidding was reopened, including Brazil, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.[10][11][12][13] On 20 October 2021, the FIFA Council named the United Arab Emirates as the host of the tournament, and postponed the event from late 2021 to early 2022.[14]
↑ The 2021 OFC Champions League was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] Initially New Zealand's Auckland City were nominated to represent the OFC based on sporting merit principles,[16] but they withdrew due to logistical complications related to the pandemic, and AS Pirae were chosen in their place.[17]
↑ Although Al-Jazira won the UAE Pro League on 11 May, and the last remaining team from the United Arab Emirates in the 2021 AFC Champions League was eliminated on 16 October, Al-Jazira's participation was not confirmed until the United Arab Emirates was appointed as tournament host on 20 October.
Venues
The matches were played at two venues in the city of Abu Dhabi, both of which hosted matches at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.
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.[21]
Matches
The draw of the tournament was held on 29 November 2021, 17:00 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).[22]
If a match was tied after normal playing time:[21]
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.
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. Thiago Silva of Chelsea won the Golden Ball award, sponsored by Adidas, which is jointly awarded with the Alibaba Cloud Award to recognise the player of the tournament.[32]
↑ "Al-Jazira vs. AS Pirae". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 3 February 2022. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
↑ "Al Ahly vs. Monterrey". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
↑ "Al-Hilal vs. Al-Jazira". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
↑ "Palmeiras vs. Al Ahly". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 8 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
↑ "Al-Hilal vs. Chelsea". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
↑ "Monterrey vs. Al-Jazira". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 February 2022. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
↑ "Al-Hilal vs. Al Ahly". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 February 2022. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
↑ "Chelsea vs. Palmeiras". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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Chelsea (1st title)
Palmeiras 
Al Ahly 
Al-Hilal 
