2021 FIFA Club World Cup

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]

For the Club World Cup tournament planned for 2020 and postponed to early 2021, see 2020 FIFA Club World Cup. For the expanded Club World Cup originally planned to be hosted by China in 2021, see Future FIFA Club World Cup (China).
2021 FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021
presented by Alibaba Cloud
كأس العالم للأندية لكرة القدم
الإمارات العربية المتحدة 2021
Tournament details
Host countryUnited Arab Emirates
CityAbu Dhabi
Dates3–12 February 2022
Teams7 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions Chelsea (1st title)
Runners-up Palmeiras
Third place Al Ahly
Fourth place Al Hilal
Tournament statistics
Matches played8
Goals scored27 (3.38 per match)
Attendance100,752 (12,594 per match)
Top scorer(s) Romelu Lukaku
Raphael Veiga
Yasser Ibrahim
Abdoulay Diaby
(2 goals each)
Best player(s) Thiago Silva
Fair play award Chelsea

Bayern Munich were the defending champions, but could not defend their title after being eliminated in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Chelsea won the final 2–1 after extra time against Palmeiras for their first FIFA Club World Cup title.

Host appointment

Originally, an expanded Club World Cup in China was planned to be held in June and July 2021.[2][3] However, due to fixture congestion caused by the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on football, the Tokyo Olympics, UEFA European Championship and Copa América were postponed from mid-2020 to mid-2021. As a result, FIFA announced in March 2020 that they would postpone the expanded Club World Cup to later in 2021, 2022 or 2023.[4][5]

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.[6] However, on 8 September 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.[7][8] 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.[9][10][11][12] On 20 October 2021, the FIFA Council announced the United Arab Emirates as the host of the tournament, and postponed the event from late 2021 to early 2022.[13]

Qualified teams
Location of teams in the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup
Team Confederation Qualification Qualified date Participation
Entering in the semi-finals
Palmeiras CONMEBOL Winners of the 2021 Copa Libertadores 27 November 2021 2nd (Previous: 2020)
Chelsea UEFA Winners of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League 29 May 2021 2nd (Previous: 2012)
Entering in the second round
Al Hilal AFC Winners of the 2021 AFC Champions League 23 November 2021 2nd (Previous: 2019)
Al Ahly CAF Winners of the 2020–21 CAF Champions League 17 July 2021 7th (Previous: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020)
Monterrey CONCACAF Winners of the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League 28 October 2021 5th (Previous: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019)
Entering in the first round
AS Pirae OFC Nominated by OFC[note 1] 31 December 2021 1st
Al Jazira AFC (Hosts) Winners of the 2020–21 UAE Pro League 20 October 2021[note 2] 2nd (Previous: 2017)

Notes

  1. On 4 June 2021, the OFC announced that the 2021 OFC Champions League had been cancelled due to border closures throughout the Pacific caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and no champions would be awarded.[14] The OFC representative at the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, which would have originally been the winners of the 2021 OFC Champions League, was confirmed to be Auckland City by the OFC on 3 August 2021. The team was chosen by the OFC Executive Committee based on sporting merit principles, which used an overall ranking which took into consideration the final placing of each OFC Champions League between 2016 and 2020, and applied to the clubs nominated by their member association to qualify for the 2021 OFC Champions League.[15] On 31 December 2021, Auckland City withdrew from the competition due to delayed reopening of the borders in New Zealand related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the reintroduction of the mandatory managed isolation and quarantine system upon returning to the country. As a result, AS Pirae were nominated as the OFC's representative in their place.[16]
  2. Al Jazira won the 2020–21 UAE Pro League on 11 May 2021, and on 16 October 2021 Al Wahda became the last team from the United Arab Emirates to be eliminated from the 2021 AFC Champions League. However, Al Jazira's participation was not confirmed until the United Arab Emirates were appointed as tournament hosts on 20 October 2021.

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.

 Abu Dhabi
Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium Al Nahyan Stadium
Capacity: 37,500 Capacity: 15,000

Match officials

Five referees, ten assistant referees, and seven video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.[17][18]

Confederation Referees Assistant referees Video assistant referees
AFC Chris Beath
  • Anton Shchetinin
  • Ashley Beecham
 Ammar Al-Jeneibi
CAF Mustapha Ghorbal
  • Mokrane Gourari
  • Abdelhak Etchiali
CONCACAF César Ramos
  • Alberto Morin
  • Miguel Hernández
 Drew Fischer
CONMEBOL Fernando Rapallini
  • Juan Pablo Belatti
  • Diego Bonfá
  • Nicolás Gallo
  • Mauro Vigliano
UEFA Clément Turpin
  • Nicolas Danos
  • Cyril Gringore

One support referee was also named for the tournament.

Confederation Support referee
OFC David Yareboinen

Semi-automated offside technology was tested during the tournament.[19]

Squads
Main article: 2021 FIFA Club World Cup 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.[20]

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).[21]

If a match was tied after normal playing time:[20]

  • 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.
First round Second round Semi-finals Final
 3 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (MBZ)                        
  Al Jazira  4   6 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (MBZ)        
  AS Pirae  1       Al Hilal  6
9 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (MBZ)
    Al Jazira  1    
  Al Hilal  0
      Chelsea  1  
12 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (MBZ)
  Chelsea (a.e.t.)  2
5 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)
    Palmeiras  1
  Al Ahly  1
8 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)
  Monterrey  0    
  Palmeiras  2
Fifth place Third place
      Al Ahly  0  
  Monterrey  3   Al Hilal  0
  Al Jazira  1   Al Ahly  4
9 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan) 12 February 2022 – Abu Dhabi (Al Nahyan)

All times are local, GST (UTC+4).[22]

First round
Al Jazira 4–1 AS Pirae
 Report
Attendance: 4,970[23]

Second round
Al Ahly 1–0 Monterrey
 Report
Attendance: 9,396[24]
Al Hilal 6–1 Al Jazira
 Report
Attendance: 12,538[25]
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)

Semi-finals
Palmeiras 2–0 Al Ahly
 Report
Attendance: 11,902[26]
Al Hilal 0–1 Chelsea
Report
Attendance: 19,175[27]
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)

Match for fifth place
Monterrey 3–1 Al Jazira
 Report
Attendance: 892[28]

Match for third place
Al Hilal 0–4 Al Ahly
Report
Attendance: 9,008[29]

Final
Main article: 2021 FIFA Club World Cup Final
Chelsea 2–1 (a.e.t.) Palmeiras
 Report
Attendance: 32,871[30]

Goalscorers
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Abdoulay Diaby Al Jazira 2
Yasser Ibrahim Al Ahly
Romelu Lukaku Chelsea
Raphael Veiga Palmeiras
5 Ahmed Abdel Kader Al Ahly 1
Zayed Al-Ameri Al Jazira
Ahmed Al-Attas Al Jazira
Salem Al-Dawsari Al Hilal
Bruno Al Jazira
André Carrillo Al Hilal
Dudu Palmeiras
Amr El Solia Al Ahly
Rogelio Funes Mori Monterrey
Mohamed Hany Al Ahly
Kai Havertz Chelsea
Odion Ighalo Al Hilal
Mohamed Kanno Al Hilal
Miloš Kosanović Al Jazira
Moussa Marega Al Hilal
César Montes Monterrey
Matheus Pereira Al Hilal

2 own goals

Final ranking

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time were counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-out were counted as draws.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Chelsea (UEFA) 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 6
Palmeiras (CONMEBOL) 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
Al Ahly (CAF) 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6
4 Al Hilal (AFC) 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 3
5 Monterrey (CONCACAF) 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
6 Al Jazira (AFC) (H) 3 1 0 2 6 10 −4 3
7 AS Pirae (OFC) 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0
Source: FIFA
(H) Host

Awards
See also: FIFA Club World Cup awards

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.[31]

Adidas Golden Ball
Alibaba Cloud Award		 Adidas Silver Ball Adidas Bronze Ball
Thiago Silva
(Chelsea)		 Dudu
(Palmeiras)		 Danilo
(Palmeiras)
FIFA Fair Play Award
Chelsea

References
  1. "Update on FIFA Club World Cup and OFC preliminary competition for Qatar 2022". FIFA. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. Harris, Rob (13 March 2019). "FIFA wants 24-team Club World Cup in 2021". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. "FIFA Council unanimously appoints China PR as hosts of new Club World Cup in 2021". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  4. "Statement from the FIFA President". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. "Bureau of the FIFA Council decisions concerning impact of COVID-19". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  6. "FIFA Council passes landmark reforms for female players and coaches, agrees further steps in COVID-19 response". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. "Update on FIFA Club World Cup 2021". FIFA. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. hermesauto (8 September 2021). "Asian Youth Games in China postponed to 2022 owing to virus; Japan drops 2021 Club World Cup". The Straits Times. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  9. Ogden, Mark (2 October 2021). "FIFA Club World Cup: South Africa to rival Qatar, UAE as potential hosts - sources". ESPN. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  10. "Rio deve ser candidato a sede do Mundial de Clubes de 2021, diz secretário: 'Estamos nos movimentando'" [Rio should be a candidate to host the 2021 Club World Cup, says secretary: 'We are moving']. Globo (in Portuguese). 16 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  11. "إحداها مصر.. 3 دول إفريقية مرشحة لاستضافة مونديال الأندية" [One of them is Egypt.. 3 African countries are candidates to host the Club World Cup]. winwin.com (in Arabic). 13 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  12. "خاص.. المغرب يكشف موقفه من استضافة مونديال الأندية 2021" [Special.. Morocco reveals its position on hosting the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup]. winwin.com (in Arabic). 15 September 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  13. "FIFA Council endorses global summit to discuss the future of football". FIFA. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  14. "OFC competitions calendar rescheduled". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 June 2021.
  15. "Auckland City nominated for the FIFA Club World Cup 2021". Oceania Football Confederation. 3 August 2021.
  16. "FIFA statement on OFC representative at the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021™". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 31 December 2021.
  17. "Match officials for the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 appointed". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  18. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 – List of Appointed Match Officials" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  19. "Semi-automated offside tech aids referees and fans at FIFA Club World Cup™". FIFA.com. 9 February 2022.
  20. "Regulations FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021" (PDF). FIFA. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  21. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021 draw to take place on 29 November". FIFA. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  22. "FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2021: Match schedule" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  23. "Al Jazira vs. AS Pirae". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  24. "Al Ahly vs. Monterrey". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  25. "Al Hilal vs. Al Jazira". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  26. "Palmeiras vs. Al Ahly". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  27. "Al Hilal vs. Chelsea". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  28. "Monterrey vs. Al Jazira". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  29. "Al Hilal vs. Al Ahly". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  30. "Chelsea vs. Palmeiras". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  31. "Thiago Silva wins adidas Golden Ball as best player of UAE 2021". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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