The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 December and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cup and the second since the competition's merger with the Intercontinental Cup.
The club champions from each of the six confederations played in a knockout tournament. The quarter-final match-ups were determined by a draw including the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC champions, while the UEFA and CONMEBOL champions were given byes to the semi-finals. The losers of the quarter-finals would play for the fifth place, while the losers of the semi-finals were to play in a third-place play-off.
A team from the host nation did not participate, as was initially proposed. Following the departure of Australia from the OFC, the Oceanian representative, Auckland City, was fully amateur, so forcing them to play a play-off for a place in the quarter-finals against the J. League champions (Gamba Osaka) was considered, which would have also promoted local interest. The change would have also eliminated the fifth-place play-off, to keep the number of games intact. This was finally rejected, but the tournament format was changed for 2007.
Read more about 2006 FIFA Club World Cup: Qualified Teams, Venues, Referees, Squads, Bracket, Scorers
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