The FIBA Intercontinental Cup competition was originally organized between the years 1966 and 1987. The tournament had its origins with a
friendly test game in
São Paulo,
Brazil, in 1965. The test game was contested by the winners of the
South American Championship of Champions Clubs, the Brazilian club
S.C. Corinthians Paulista, and the FIBA European Champions Cup (now the
EuroLeague) champions, the Spanish club
Real Madrid. S.C. Corinthians Paulista won the test game, by a score of 118 to 109. After the success of the test tournament, the first official tournament took place in the year 1966. In 1973, the competition adopted the name
FIBA Intercontinental Cup William Jones, to honour the secretary general of
FIBA,
William Jones. FIBA tried to rebirth the competition in 1996, by reorganizing the Intercontinental Cup into a
best-of-three playoff tournament between the winners of the Euroleague and the winners of the
FIBA South American League (the champions of South America). After that tournament, however, the competition was not held until the
2013 edition. the cup in 1983, after becoming the first team from South America to win the competition. In August 2013, an agreement reached between
Euroleague Basketball Company,
FIBA Americas, and
FIBA World, allowed for the World Cup for Champion Clubs to be relaunched, and to be played between the Euroleague champion and the
FIBA Americas League champion.
1965 test tournament , where the
1965 FIBA Intercontinental Cup Test was held. The FIBA Intercontinental Cup unofficially began with the
friendly competition of the
1965 FIBA Intercontinental Cup Test in
São Paulo,
Brazil, in 1965. The game was played by the defending champions of the
South American Club Championship,
S.C. Corinthians Paulista, and the defending champions of the
FIBA European Champions Cup (
EuroLeague),
Real Madrid. It was held at the
Ginásio Poliesportivo Parque São Jorge. Corinthians won the game 118 to 109, with
Wlamir Marques of S.C. Corinthians scoring 40 points in the game. Due to the test tournament's great success (attendance for the game was 10,000), the FIBA Intercontinental Cup was made an official annual tournament by
FIBA. The first official FIBA Intercontinental Cup tournament was then held
the following year.
1972 special version In 1972,
FIBA held a 4 team tournament, featuring the
Soviet Union national basketball team, the
Polish national basketball team, the
Brazilian national basketball team, and the
NABL All-Stars Team, which participated in the place of
Team USA. Although this tournament is not a part of the actual Club World Cup, it is still listed in the event's history as a special version of the tournament and counts as one of the editions, while the actual club competition was on hiatus between the years of 1970 and 1973.
Four team format (2016–2023) In 2016, the tournament again changed format, with the EuroLeague champions no longer being allowed to compete in the tournament due to the
EuroLeague's dispute with FIBA. In place of the EuroLeague champions,
FIBA Europe began to send the champions of their club competition, originally the
FIBA Europe Cup and later the
FIBA Champions League, instead. For the
2019 tournament, FIBA increased the competition's number of teams to four, by adding the
NBA G League's champions, and also a tournament host club. The tournament was also reconfigured into a
final four format. FIBA has also considered plans to expand the tournament at some point in the future, with plans to add the champion teams from the
FIBA AfroLeague, the
FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the
Australian NBL, and possibly the
NBA. In the
2022 tournament, the league expanded to include the winner of the
Basketball Africa League (BAL). From the
2023 tournament, the winners of the
FIBA Asia Champions Cup will also be included in the tournament.
Expanded format (2023–present) In March 2023, the tournament format received an overhaul. The event was changed from February to September so that it adapts more efficiently to the domestic and continental leagues' calendar and the schedule of international players, and to better accommodate participating clubs. The
2024 season will feature a team from Oceania for the first time, as the winners of Australia and New Zealand's
National Basketball League (NBL) earn direct qualification. The
Tasmania JackJumpers are the first representative in tournament history.
Names of the competition •
FIBA Intercontinental Cup (or FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs): (1966–1980) •
FIBA Club World Cup: (1981) •
FIBA Intercontinental Cup (or FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs): (1982–1984) •
FIBA Club World Cup: (1985–1987) •
FIBA Intercontinental Cup (or FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs): (1996, 2013–present) • Since 1973, the tournament has also been named in Honor of
Renato William Jones, so the tournament's full official names would be either
FIBA Intercontinental Cup "William Jones", or
FIBA Club World Cup "William Jones". • The tournament is also referred to as the
FIBA Intercontinental Cup of Clubs, in order to avoid confusion with the
1972 FIBA Intercontinental Cup of National Teams. ==Format==