It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors in the cancelled 2001 tournament, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), but in 2005 it changed to an annual competition through 2023.

Views differ as to the cup's prestige: it struggles to attract interest in most of Europe, and is the object of heated debate in South America.

[12] Palmeiras beat Juventus at Maracanã with over 200,000 spectators in attendance at the final of the 1951 Copa Rio, and were hailed as the first ever Club World Champions by the whole Brazilian press.

The Dutch team AFC Ajax claimed a victory without any problems and this match was no more difficult than a banal encounter at the European Cup.

[30] The North and Central America confederation, CONCACAF, was created in 1961 in order to, among other reasons, try to include its clubs in the Copa Libertadores and, by extension, the Intercontinental Cup.

[32] Due to the brutality of the Argentine and Uruguayan clubs at the Intercontinental Cup, FIFA was asked several times during the late 1960s to assess penalties and regulate the tournament.

[21] Allan's crusade also suffered after CONMEBOL, with the backing of its President Teofilo Salinas and the Argentine Football Association (Asociación del Fútbol Argentino; AFA), refused to allow FIFA to have any hand in the competition stating:[36] The CSF is the entity in charge of controlling, in South America, the organisation of the tournament between the champions of Europe and [South] America, a competition FIFA considers a friendly.

With the Asian and North American club competitions in place in 1967, FIFA opened the idea of supervising the Intercontinental Cup if it included those confederations, with Stanley Rous saying that CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation had requested in 1967 participation of their champions in the Intercontinental Cup; the proposal was met with a negative response from UEFA and CONMEBOL.

The 1968 and 1969 Intercontinental Cups finished in similarly violent fashion, with Manchester United manager Matt Busby insisting that "the Argentineans should be banned from all competitive football.

"[38] In 1970, the FIFA Executive Committee proposed the creation of a multicontinental Club World Cup, not limited to Europe and South America but including also the other confederations; the idea did not go forward due to UEFA resistance.

In 1973, French newspaper L'Equipe, who helped bring about the birth of the European Cup,[39] volunteered to sponsor a Club World Cup contested by the champions of Europe, South America, North America and Africa, the only continental club tournaments in existence at the time; the competition was to potentially take place in Paris between September and October 1974, with an eventual final to be held at the Parc des Princes.

[42] The idea for a multicontinental, FIFA-endorsed Club World Cup was also endorsed by João Havelange in his campaigning for FIFA presidency in 1974.

[53] In 1983, the English Football Association tried organising a Club World Cup to be played in 1985 and sponsored by West Nally, only to be denied by UEFA.

[56] According to Sepp Blatter, the idea of the tournament was presented to the executive committee in December 1993 in Las Vegas, United States by Silvio Berlusconi, AC Milan's president.

[66] Vasco da Gama could not take advantage of its local support, being beaten by Corinthians 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in 90 minutes and extra time.

[80][81] The 2005 version was shorter than the previous World Championship, reducing the problem of scheduling the tournament around the different club seasons across each continent.

[85] Internacional defeated defending World and South American champions São Paulo in the 2006 Copa Libertadores Finals in order to qualify for the 2006 tournament.

[98] After a very close encounter which saw the need for extra-time, Lionel Messi scored from a header to snatch victory for Barcelona and complete an unprecedented sextuple.

One notable thing that occurred in the 2015 tournament was that Sanfrecce Hiroshima finished in third place, the best result achieved by a Japanese club at the time.

[120][121] 2017 involved the likes of Real Madrid becoming the first team in Club World Cup history to return to the tournament to defend their title.

Real Madrid became the first team to successfully defend their title after defeating Grêmio in the Final, all while eliminating Al Jazira in the Semi-Finals.

[129] In late 2016, FIFA President Gianni Infantino suggested an expansion of the Club World Cup to 32 teams beginning in 2019 and the reschedule to June to be more balanced and more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors.

[142][143] Africa's best representatives were TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Moroccan club Raja CA, which finished second in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

Asia's best representatives were Kashima Antlers from Japan, Al-Ain from the United Arab Emirates and Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia, finishing second in 2016, 2018 and 2022, respectively.

The competition changed its format during the 2005 relaunch into a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shoot-outs used to decide the winner if necessary.

[82][188] The design, according to FIFA, showed six staggered pillars, representing the six participating teams from the respective six confederations, and one separate metal structure referencing the winner of the competition.

[188] As part of the expansion of the tournament to 32 teams, a new trophy was created in collaboration with global luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co. and unveiled on 14 November 2024.

In most of Europe it struggles to find broad media attention compared to the UEFA Champions League and commonly lacks recognition as a high-ranking contest.

[210][211] In South America, however, it is widely considered the highest point in the career of a footballer, coach and/or team at international club level.

[212][213] The competition is also criticised, mainly by the European press and fans among others, for its format, which favours the UEFA and CONMEBOL teams, since their representatives start in the semi-finals and can only meet each other in the final match.