Intercontinental Cup (football)
The Intercontinental Cup, also known as the Toyota European/South American Cup (abbreviated as Toyota Cup) for sponsorship reasons, from 1980 to 2004, was an international football competition endorsed by UEFA (Europe) and CONMEBOL (South America), contested between representative clubs from these confederations (representatives of most developed continents in the football world), usually the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the South American Copa Libertadores. It ran from 1960 to 2004, when it was succeeded by the FIFA Club World Championship, although they both ran concurrently in 2000.
The trophy given to the winners | |
| Organising body | UEFA CONMEBOL |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1960 |
| Abolished | 2004 |
| Region | Europe and South America (1960–1979) Japan (1980–2004) |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Related competitions | UEFA Champions League Copa Libertadores FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Intercontinental Cup Copa Rio |
| Last champions | Porto (2nd title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Boca Juniors Milan Nacional Peñarol Real Madrid (3 titles each) |
From its formation in 1960 to 1979, the competition was as a two-legged tie, with a play-off if necessary until 1968, and penalty kicks later. During the 1970s, European participation in the Intercontinental Cup became a running question due to controversial events in the 1969 match, and some European Cup-winning teams withdrew. From 1980, the competition was rebranded and contested as a single match played in Japan, regarded neutral territory for both contestants, and sponsored by multinational automaker Toyota, which offered a secondary trophy, the Toyota Cup. At that point, the Japan Football Association was involved at a logistical level as host, though it continued to be endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL.
The first winner of the cup was Spanish side Real Madrid, who beat Peñarol of Uruguay in 1960. The last winner was Portuguese side Porto, defeating Colombian side Once Caldas in a penalty shoot-out in 2004. The competition ended in 2004. Since 2017, past Intercontinental Cup winners have been recognised by FIFA as club world champions.