Wellington Olympic and Auckland City will compete for the chance to play in a new annual FIFA club competition, to be contested between six teams representing the six football confederations.
Officially called the Coupe Intercontinentale de la FIFA (FIFA Intercontinental Cup), the competition will include the winner of the OFC Champions League.
The first staging of the tournament will be in 2024, with a grand final to be played in December.
The competition got the final go-ahead at the December meeting of the FIFA Council in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The tournament will feature all current confederation premier club competition champions and concludes with a final at a neutral venue between the UEFA Champions League winners and the winners of an intercontinental play-off between clubs from the other confederations.
Main photo: Wellington Olympic’s Gavin Hoy and Auckland City’s Dylan Manickum tangle in the grand final of the Men’s National League. The clubs will resume their rivalry in the OFC Champions League play-offs. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.
How New Zealand clubs can qualify
Wellington Olympic and Auckland City meet in a two-legged play-off in February/March to decide who represents New Zealand at the OFC Champions League in Tahiti in May.
The winner of the Tahiti tournament will represent Oceania in the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, with an away tie against either the AFC (Asia) Champions League or the CAF (Africa) Champions League.
Here’s how the draw will work:
The Intercontinental Cup coincides with the revamping of the FIFA Club World Cup, which moves from a seven-club competition to a 32-club tournament in mid-2025.
The Intercontinental Cup enables clubs to compete annually against top sides from other confederations.
Meanwhile, Auckland City have been confirmed among the 19 clubs that have already qualified for the first new-look FIFA Club World Cup to be staged in the United States in mid-2025.
READ MORE: Auckland City qualify for revamped FIFA Club World Cup to be held in 2025 >>>>
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