Liverpool will have the chance to establish themselves officially the best club in the world in December, as they take part in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Winning the Champions League entitles teams to partake in the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup usually, though a reshaping of the latter competition is forthcoming.
That led to widespread reports that the tournament would not be held this year, with an expanded edition taking place in future summertimes instead, but this is not the case.
The Club World Cup is going ahead as usual for both the 2019 and 2020 editions, with the FIFA Council having now on Monday endorsed Qatar as the hosts, as confirmed by BBC reporter Dan Roan.
Qatar hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the Club World Cup is utilised as a test of their readiness for the influx of fans, games and events to organise.
Winning teams from each of the six FIFA zones Continental championships take part, as well as the domestic champion from the host nation. For UEFA, that means the Champions League winners—and for 2019/20, that’s Liverpool.
The Club World Cup will be played in December in Qatar, with average temperatures around that time of year between 17 and 26 degrees Celsius.
Liverpool have never won any version of this competition; a defeat to Sao Paulo came in 2005, after a loss to Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup in 1981.
Real Madrid have won the last three editions of the trophy and no non-European team has tasted success since 2012, when Corinthians beat Chelsea, the last participant from the Premier League—who the Reds will, ironically, meet in the Super Cup in August.
Two spaces in the 2019 Club World Cup remain; as well as Liverpool, Mexican side Monterrey have qualified after winning the CONCACAF Champions League and Esperance de Tunis, of Tunisia, won the CAF Champions League.
Hienghene Sport, from New Caledonia, are the representatives from Oceania after winning the OFC Champions League, and Al Sadd are now confirmed to be involved as the domestic champions of Qatar.
The AFC Champions League is only at the Round of 16 stage and the two-legged final is in November, while the South American Copa Libertadores final is similarly poised at the last 16, with the final on November 23.
The likes of River Plate, Boca Juniors, Palmeiras and Gremio are just some of the teams still in the mix to win the Libertadores.
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