Japan is set to host the re-vamped version of the world club championship in both 2005 and 2006.
Japan has hosted the Intercontinental club cup since 1980, pitching the winners of the Champions league against the Copa Libertatores holders. The new format of the competition will comprise a representative team from each of the six football confederations, re-launching the event that proved unpopular in its inaugural year in Brazil.
European clubs had been sceptical about the viability of the tournament, but agreed to play provided the UEFA representative wouldn’t necessarily be the European champions.
Japanese soccer chief Saburo Kawabuhi said: “If we can stage it successfully over the next two years, I think FIFA will say the tournament should stay in Japan,”
The final match under the old guise of Intercontinental Club Cup will take place in July between European champions Porto and Colombian Copa Libertadores winners Once Caldas.
