Which club has won the most FIFA Club World Cups?

The FIFA Club World Cup gets into full flow on Saturday with two games taking place in the second round/quarter finals (can it be the quarter-finals if there are only two matches? I have my doubts). Anyway, the latest fixtures see Moroccan side Wydad Casablanca take on Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia (kick-off at 9:30 a.m. ET) followed by MLS side Seattle Sounders against Egyptians Al Ahly (kick-off at 12:00 p.m ET), who impressed in their first-round win over Auckland City on Wednesday. You can follow live coverage of both games right here on AS USA:

Flamengo await the winners of Wydad Casablanca vs Al Hilal in the first semi-final on Tuesday 7 February, while Real Madrid will take on either the Sounders or Al Ahly on Wednesday 8 February.

Of the teams involved on Saturday, you might not be that surprised to hear that none of them have ever won the competition. Seattle Sounders, having won the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in 2022, are making their debut at the FIFA Club World Cup, in stark contrast to opponents Al Ahly, who have now participated in eight editions. Only Auckland City, the team they defeated in midweek, have appeared more often (10 times) since the tournament started in 2000.

Which team has won the FIFA Club World Cup most often?

Real Madrid are the only team involved this year who have previously won the FIFA Club World Cup and, in another shocking revelation, they hold the record for most victories in the competition…although that’s a recent phenomenon, despite the fact that they’ve not won it for five years.

The reigning European Champions lifted the trophy four times in five years between 2014 and 2018, with their last two triumphs seeing them leapfrog three-time winners Barcelona into top spot (there’s just no way to avoid comparing these two, no matter how much you want to). Brazilian club Corinthians and Bayern Munich are next on two wins, with seven clubs (Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Milan, Inter, São Paolo and Internacional of Brazil) having won it once.

Clubs from which country have won the FIFA Club World Cup most often?

Those seven titles won by Real Madrid and Barcelona puts Spain at the top of the FIFA Club World Cup tree. Previous victors have only ever come from four other nations: Brazil (four), England (three), Italy and Germany (both two).

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Clubs from which confederation/continent have won the FIFA Club World Cup most often?

Complete and utter dominance by UEFA/European teams, who have won 14 of the 18 tournaments contested so far. CONMEBOL/South America (Brazil…) is the only other continent to have produced a winner (in the other four).

AFC/Asian and CAF/African teams have reached two finals. Japanese side Kashima Antlers lost to Madrid in the 2016 final, while the Spaniards beat Al Ain of the UAE in 2018. Congolese club TP Mazembe and Raja Casablanca of Morocco are the two African finalists, losing to Inter and Bayern in 2010 and 2013 respectively.

OFC/Oceania is the only continent never to have provided a FIFA Club World Cup finalist, despite Auckland City holding the record for number of appearances, as mentioned. And that trend won’t be broken this year, with the New Zealanders having already been sent home by Al Ahly.