Real Madrid's schedule for FIFA Intercontinental Cup confirmed | OneFootball

Real Madrid will fly to Qatar for one match in December as they contest the final of the new FIFA Intercontinental Cup, with the format of the competition now confirmed.

FIFA has transformed the Club World Cup into a quadrennial tournament more in keeping with the original national teams World Cup. The first 32-team edition, which will mirror World Cup tournaments played between 1998 and 2022, will take place in June and July next summer.

But rather than scrap the competition that has been played every December since 2005, FIFA has retained it under a slightly different guise that will still see each season's UEFA Champions League winners compete against other continental champions from around the world.

As last season's European champions, Madrid will take part in the first such FIFA Intercontinental Cup. It borrows the name of the defunct competition that was contested between the European Cup winners and the Copa Libertadores winners each year from 1960 until 2004.

The early rounds will be contested by clubs from elsewhere and the competition will be spread over a few months rather than a few days. And rather than be based in a single host city or country, the higher ranked club will have home advantage in the first two rounds.

Real Madrid have qualified as reigning European champions / Anadolu/GettyImages

It means that the opening tie between Al Ain and Auckland City, the champions of Asia and Oceania respectively, will be played in Abu Dhabi on Sunday evening. The winner of that encounter will then progress to the next round in on 29 October to face African champions Al Ahly in Egypt. That game has been given the additional title of the African-Asian-Pacific Cup.

The first game in Qatar will be on 11 December and pits the South American champions against the North and Central American champions. It has been dubbed the Derby of the Americas and will see Mexico's Pachuca and the as yet unknown 2024 Copa Libertadores winners face each other.

Then, the winner of that round goes on to face either Al Ain, Auckland City or Al Ahly three days later on 14 December in the Challenger Cup. Finally, Madrid enter the fray on 17 December for the Intercontinental Cup itself, to go head to head with the 'challenger' for the overall trophy.

It is ultimately only one extra game for Madrid, but it still entails a lengthy international return trip and the expected postponement or rearrangement of a La Liga fixture against Rayo Vallecano. And, given the expansion of the Champions League and summer Club World Cup, the demands on the squad could see them play up to 71 club games across seven competitions this season.