
Club World Cup 2015 was the 12th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organized international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation’s league champions. The tournament was hosted by Japan between 10 and 20 December 2015.
Real Madrid, the defending champions, did not qualify for the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League. The winners of that competition, Barcelona, went on to claim a record third FIFA Club World Cup title. Barcelona defeated Guangzhou Evergrande 3–0 in the semi-finals and then secured a 3–0 victory over River Plate in the final.
Champions Runners- Up Third Place Fourth Place FIFA Fair Play Award
Barcelona (3rd title)
River Plate
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Guangzhou Evergrande
Barcelona
Club World Cup 2015 awards
Award Player Team
Adidas Golden Ball
Alibaba Cloud Award Luis Suárez
Barcelona
Adidas Silver Ball Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Adidas Bronze Ball Andrés Iniesta
Barcelona
Club World Cup 2015 Qualified Teams
Team Confederation Achivement Qualification
River Plate
CONMEBOL Winners of the 2015 Copa Libertadores Entering in the semi-final
Barcelona
UEFA Winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League Entering in the semi-final
Guangzhou Evergrande
AFC Winners of the 2015 AFC Champions League Entering in the quarter-final
TP Mazembe
CAF Winners of the 2015 CAF Champions League Entering in the quarter-final
Club América
CONCACAF Winners of the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League Entering in the quarter-final
Auckland City
OFC Winners of the 2014–15 OFC Champions League Entering in the play-off for quarter-final
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
AFC (host) Winners of the 2015 J1 League Entering in the play-off for quarter-final
Play-off for quarter-final
10 December 2015 19:45, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
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2–0 | ![]() |
Minagawa ![]() Shiotani ![]() |
Quarter final matches
13 December 2015 16:00, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
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1–2 | ![]() |
Peralta ![]() |
Zheng Long ![]() Paulinho ![]() |
13 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
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0–3 | ![]() |
Shiotani ![]() Chiba ![]() Asano ![]() |
Fifth place match
16 December 2015 16:30, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
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2–1 | ![]() |
Benedetto ![]() Zúñiga ![]() |
Kalaba ![]() |
Club World Cup 2015 semi finals
16 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | Nagai Stadium, Osaka
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0–1 | ![]() |
Kalaba ![]() |
17 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
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3–0 | ![]() |
Suárez ![]() |
Third place match
20 December 2015 16:00, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
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2–1 | ![]() |
Douglas ![]() |
Paulinho ![]() |
Club World Cup 2015 final match
20 December 2015 19:30, JST (UTC+9) | International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
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0–3 | ![]() |
Messi ![]() Suárez ![]() |
Club World Cup 2015 top goal scorers
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Luis Suárez
Barcelona
5
2 Paulinho
Guangzhou Evergrande
2
3 Douglas
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
2
4 Tsukasa Shiotani
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
2
5 Darío Benedetto
Club América
1
Format change proposed
A proposed change to the FIFA Club World Cup, driven by the Oceania Football Confederation, suggested a new format that would eliminate the knockout rounds for the quarter-finals and play-off stage. In this format, two round-robin groups of three teams would be formed, including two teams from the host nation and the champions of AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, and OFC. The group winners would then advance to the semi-finals to face the champions of CONMEBOL and UEFA. This structure would ensure that all teams play at least two matches, addressing the issue where the loser of the play-off round only plays one match. However, this proposal was not implemented.