Paris Saint-Germain handed Intercontinental Cup 2026 final place as global club battle takes shape

FIFA’s 2026 Intercontinental Cup will begin on Wednesday, 26 August, with Al Ahli Saudi facing Auckland City in the opening match before the competition progresses towards a final featuring Paris Saint-Germain.

The annual tournament, introduced by FIFA to preserve a contest between the champions of its six confederations, will be played for the third successive year. It was created after the Club World Cup was expanded into a 32-team event staged every four years, with the first expanded edition taking place in the United States.

The Intercontinental Cup brings together the winners of the AFC Champions League, CAF Champions League, CONCACAF Champions Cup, Copa Libertadores, OFC Champions League and UEFA Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain, the European champions, are scheduled to face the winners of the Challenge Cup in the final. The identity of the Copa Libertadores 2026 winners remains unknown, meaning five of the six participating clubs have so far qualified.

Intercontinental Cup 2026 schedule

The tournament’s opening fixture will see Al Ahli Saudi, winners of the AFC Champions League Elite, play Auckland City, the OFC Champions League holders.

That match is scheduled for 26 August in Saudi Arabia. The winner will then travel to South Africa to meet Mamelodi Sundowns, who won the CAF Champions League, in the next stage.

The separate Americas tie will feature Deportivo Toluca, the CONCACAF champions, against the eventual winners of the 2026 Copa Libertadores. The Copa Libertadores champions have not yet been confirmed.

The main stages are:

– Africa-Asia-Pacific Cup: Al Ahli Saudi versus Auckland City, with the winner facing Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa. – Americas Derby: Deportivo Toluca against the 2026 Copa Libertadores winners. – Challenge Cup: the winner of the Africa-Asia-Pacific Cup against the winner of the Americas Derby. – Intercontinental Cup final: Paris Saint-Germain against the Challenge Cup winners.

The remaining matches are due to be completed in December.

Unlike the expanded Club World Cup, the Intercontinental Cup will not be held entirely in one host country. The early rounds will be staged at the home grounds of participating clubs, with each team in the opening and second rounds hosting its own match.

The Americas Derby, semi-final and final will instead be played in a single country, as happened in the previous edition. FIFA has not yet announced which country will host those matches.

Broadcast details

MBC will show the opening meeting between Al Ahli Saudi and Auckland City on MBC Action and through the MBC Shahid application.

The broadcaster for the latter stages has not yet been confirmed. Previous editions of the competition were shown by beIN SPORTS.

A revived global club competition

The Intercontinental Cup returned last year after a 20-year absence. FIFA’s council approved the creation of the new annual tournament on 14 March 2023, following the decision to reorganise the Club World Cup as a four-yearly competition with 32 teams.

The competition is intended to revive the global contest between continental champions while providing a replacement for the annual version of the Club World Cup. Its name is inspired by the former intercontinental club championship, which was last played in 2004 between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and Copa Libertadores.

The tournament’s format gives the UEFA Champions League winners a direct place in the final. The other qualified clubs must negotiate the preliminary rounds and semi-final before reaching the showpiece match.

Real Madrid won the first edition after the competition returned, while Paris Saint-Germain followed them as champions. The previous edition is also recorded as having ended with Paris Saint-Germain, the European champions, beating Brazilian club Flamengo in the final.