FIFA Women's Club World Cup



The FIFA Women's Club World Cup is a proposed international women's association football competition that is being organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition is currently in only planning mode.

A possible format of the tournament is not announced. The men's FIFA Club World Cup involves seven teams, including the six continental club champions and the host nation's national club champions. In the women's tournament the winners of that year's Copa Libertadores Femenina (South America) and UEFA Women's Champions League (Europe) will likely enter. As of 2017, no Asian, African, North American or Oceanic continental tournaments are being played.

History
The International Women's Club Championship (IWCC) was the first international annual competition contested by women's champion clubs. The competition was founded and organised by the Japan Football Association and the L. League. The first International Women's Club Championship took place in Japan in November 2012 with participation from four teams; Olympique Lyonnais (Europe), Canberra United (Australia), INAC Kobe Leonessa (Japan) and NTV Beleza (cup winner, Japan).

In October 2012, L-League's senior executive, Taguchi Yoshinori, announced that he intended the IWCC run for three years and expand to include more continental champions. It was also envisaged that FIFA would ultimately endorse the tournament as a female equivalent of the FIFA Club World Cup.

In October 2013, FIFA's Executive Committee heard a proposal from their Women's Football Task Force to explore the idea of an official FIFA Women's Club World Cup. The following month Brazilian broadcaster Globo reported that FIFA had already sanctioned a separate Club World Championship, with similarities to the men's Intercontinental Cup, to be contested by the 2013 Copa Libertadores Femenina champions São José and 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League champions VfL Wolfsburg during 2014. However, the match never progressed beyond the planning stages. In 2015 the FIFA Women's Football Task Force again proposed the creation of the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.

In August 2015, the Women's Football Task Force confirmed that the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup was a work-in-progress. The Task Force also proposed an increase in teams and in development of competitions at confederation level in relation to the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.

A friendly played between Arsenal L.F.C. (FA Women's Cup holders) and Seattle Reign FC (NWSL Shield holders) on 26 May 2016 at Memorial Stadium, Seattle was described as "a stepping stone to the grand idea of a FIFA Women's Club World Cup."