In an official report released last Tuesday (17), FIFA began to uniform intercontinental competitions of various clubs, including the 1950s Rio Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup. Classified as “inter-confederations cup”, no distinction was made about the relevance or importance in the entity’s official document.
In this way, Palmeiras, winner of the Rio 1951 Cup, is placed in the same shelf as the Intercontinental Cup champions clubs. For example, Real Madrid appears listed with nine achievements adding all intercontinental competitions.
According to the website “GE.Globo”, however, this categorization does not imply that FIFA recognizes the Rio Cup as an official world title. The entity only grouped all competitions between different confederations clubs in the same classification, without modifying the official recognition of world champion, which is reserved only for the winners of the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup.
Thus, although the Rio Copa title is recognized, Palmeiras is not officially considered world champion.
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What is the Rio Cup?
The Rio Cup was created for the purpose of electing the world champion among clubs from various continents. The tournament took place only twice: in 1951, with the title staying with Palmeiras, and in 1952, when Fluminense came out. Both editions were supported by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, which acted with the costs of lodging and logistics to attract teams from Europe and South America.
In 1951, Palmeiras represented Brazil alongside Vasco. With the absence of Milan and Barcelona, Juventus, Nice and Austria Vienna were included in the tournament, which also featured National, Red Star, Sporting, among others.
Why is Palmeiras not considered world champion?
On the official website of Palmeiras, there is the information that the team from São Paulo was the first to win the inaugural edition of the Interclub World Cup in 1951.
The globalization of football required more inclusive tournaments among continents, culminating in the 2000 Interclub World Cup in Japan. With the title of Corinthians, Palmeiras began to claim the conquest of 1951 to FIFA.
In search of validation, Palmeiras presented a dossier and, in a meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee in São Paulo, the Rio Cup was recognized in minutes as the first intercontinental club competition. The minutes were sent to the agency in Switzerland and declared by the General Secretariat as valid recognition.
However, after the scandal that overthrew Joseph Blatter and Jérôme Valcke, Gianni Infantino, advised by FIFA’s legal department, decided not to formalize recognition, not to create precedents that would allow any tournament to self -proclaim worldwide.
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World champions recognized by FIFA per year
Intercontinental Cup (1960-1979) / European / South American Cup (1980-2004)
| Yet | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Real Madrid | Peñarol |
| 1961 | Peñarol | Benfica |
| 1962 | Santos | Benfica |
| 1963 | Santos | Milan |
| 1964 | International | Independent |
| 1965 | International | Independent |
| 1966 | Peñarol | Real Madrid |
| 1967 | Racing | Celtic |
| 1968 | Students | Manchester United |
| 1969 | Milan | Students |
| 1970 | Feyenoord | Students |
| 1971 | National | Panathinaikos |
| 1972 | Ajax | Independent |
| 1973 | Independent | Juventus |
| 1974 | Atlético de Madrid | Independent |
| 1976 | Bayern de Munich | Cruise |
| 1977 | Boca Juniors | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 1979 | Olympiad | Malmö |
| 1980 | National | Nottingham Forest |
| 1981 | Flemish | Liverpool |
| 1982 | Peñarol | Aston Villa |
| 1983 | Guild | Hamburg |
| 1984 | Independent | Liverpool |
| 1985 | Juventus | Argentinos Juniors |
| 1986 | River Plate | Steaua Bucuresti |
| 1987 | Porto | Peñarol |
| 1988 | National | PSV Eindhoven |
| 1989 | Milan | National Atlético |
| 1990 | Milan | Olympiad |
| 1991 | Red Star | Colo-Colo |
| 1992 | São Paulo | Barcelona |
| 1993 | São Paulo | Milan |
| 1994 | Vélez Sarsfield | Milan |
| 1995 | Ajax | Guild |
| 1996 | Juventus | River Plate |
| 1997 | Borussia Dortmund | Cruise |
| 1998 | Real Madrid | Vasco |
| 1999 | Manchester United | Palm trees |
| 2000 | Boca Juniors | Real Madrid |
| 2001 | Bayern de Munich | Boca Juniors |
| 2002 | Real Madrid | Olympiad |
| 2003 | Boca Juniors | Milan |
| 2004 | Porto | Once Caldas |
*The championship was not held in 1975 and in 1978.
FIFA World Club Championship (2000-2005) / FIFA Club World Cup (2006-2023)
| Yet | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Corinthians | Vasco |
| 2005 | São Paulo | Liverpool |
| 2006 | International | Barcelona |
| 2007 | Milan | Boca Juniors |
| 2008 | Manchester United | LDU QUITO |
| 2009 | Barcelona | Students |
| 2010 | International | TP Mazembe |
| 2011 | Barcelona | Santos |
| 2012 | Corinthians | Chelsea |
| 2013 | Bayern de Munich | Raja Casablanca |
| 2014 | Real Madrid | San Lorenzo |
| 2015 | Barcelona | River Plate |
| 2016 | Real Madrid | Kashima Antlers |
| 2017 | Real Madrid | Guild |
| 2018 | Real Madrid | Al Ain |
| 2019 | Liverpool | Flemish |
| 2020 | Bayern de Munich | UANL tigers |
| 2021 | Chelsea | Palm trees |
| 2022 | Real Madrid | Al-Hilal |
| 2023 | Manchester City | Fluminense |
*The championship was canceled in 2001 and not held from 2002 to 2004.
FIFA Intercontinental Cup (2024-Present)
| Yet | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Real Madrid | Pachuca |
List of teams with world titles recognized by FIFA
-
Real Madrid (Spain) – 9 titles (1960, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024)
-
Milan (Italy) – 4 titles (1969, 1989, 1990, 2007)
-
Bayern Munich (Germany) – 4 titles (1976, 2001, 2013, 2020)
-
Peñarol (Uruguai) – 3 titles (1961, 1966, 1982)
-
National (Uruguay) – 3 titles (1971, 1980, 1988)
-
Boca Juniors (Argentina) – 3 titles (1977, 2000, 2003)
-
São Paulo (Brazil) – 3 titles (1992, 1993, 2005)
-
International (itália) – 3 titles (1964, 1965, 2010)
-
Barcelona (Spain) – 3 titles (2009, 2011, 2015)
-
Santos (Brazil) – 2 titles (1962, 1963)
-
Independent (Argentina) – 2 titles (1973, 1984)
-
AJAX (Netherlands) – 2 titles (1972, 1995)
-
Juventus (Italy) – 2 titles (1985, 1996)
-
Porto (Portugal) – 2 titles (1987, 2004)
-
Manchester United (Inglaterra) – 2 titles (1999, 2008)
-
Corinthians (Brazil) – 2 titles (2000, 2012)
-
Racing (Argentina) – 1 title (1967)
-
Students (Argentina) – 1 title (1968)
-
Feyenoord (Netherlands) – 1 title (1970)
-
Atletico de Madrid (Spain) – 1 title (1974)
-
Olimpia (Paraguay) – 1 title (1979)
-
Flamengo (Brazil) – 1 title (1981)
-
Grêmio (Brazil) – 1 title (1983)
-
River Plate (Argentina) – 1 title (1986)
-
Red Star (Yugoslavia) – 1 title (1991)
-
Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina) – 1 title (1994)
-
Borussia Dortmund (Germany) – 1 title (1997)
-
International (Brazil) – 1 title (2006)
-
Liverpool (England) – 1 title (2019)
-
Chelsea (England) – 1 title (2021)
-
Manchester City (Inglaterra) – 1 title (2023)
