| Under-20 Intercontinental Cup | |
| Organisers: | CONMEBOL UEFA |
| Region: | South America Europe |
| Number Of Teams: | 2 |
| Current Champions: | Boca Juniors (1st title) |
| Most Successful Club: | Benfica Boca Juniors (1 title each) |
| Website: | (UEFA) (Conmebol) |
The Under-20 Intercontinental Cup (Spanish; Castilian: Sub-20 Intercontinental, Portuguese: Intercontinental de Sub-20) is a football match organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA. The match is contested by the winners of the South American and European youth club competitions, the U-20 Copa Libertadores and UEFA Youth League, respectively.[1] [2] Organised as an annual one-off match, it is a youth competition equivalent to the former Intercontinental Cup, which featured the senior club champions of Europe and South America. The competition was launched in 2022 as part of a renewed partnership between CONMEBOL and UEFA. Portuguese side Benfica won the first edition in 2022.
On 12 February 2020, UEFA and CONMEBOL signed a renewed memorandum of understanding meant to enhance cooperation between the two organisations. As part of the agreement, a joint UEFA–CONMEBOL committee examined the possibility of staging European–South American intercontinental matches, for both men's and women's football and across various age groups.[3] On 15 December 2021, UEFA and CONMEBOL again signed a renewed memorandum of understanding lasting until 2028, which included specific provisions on opening a joint office in London and the potential organisation of various football events.[4]
The official opening of the Joint UEFA and CONMEBOL Representation Office was held on 4 April 2022, where representatives of both confederations and Uruguayan club Peñarol met to agree on the creation of the Under-20 Intercontinental Cup.[5] [6] This was confirmed by Peñarol on 25 April 2022 after another meeting between representatives of UEFA, CONMEBOL and the Peñarol club in Nyon, Switzerland prior to the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League final.[7] [8]
On 2 June 2022, the day after staging the 2022 Finalissima, CONMEBOL and UEFA officially announced a series of new events between teams from the two confederations. This included the first Under-20 Intercontinental Cup, a match between the winners of South America's U-20 Copa Libertadores, an under-20 competition, and the winners of Europe's UEFA Youth League, an under-19 competition. The first winners of the competition were Portuguese club Benfica, winners of the 2021–22 UEFA Youth League, who defeated South American side Peñarol, winners of the 2022 U-20 Copa Libertadores, after a 1–0 victory at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay.[9]
| Ed. | scope=col | Year | scope=col | Winners | scope=col | Score | scope=col | Runners-up | scope=col | Venue | scope=col | Location | scope=col | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Benfica | 1–0 | Peñarol | Estadio Centenario | Montevideo, Uruguay | 40,579 | ||||||||
| 2023 | Boca Juniors | 1–1 | AZ | La Bombonera | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 37,386 | ||||||||
| 2024 | Maracanã | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Club | Title(s) | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benfica | 1 | 0 | 2022 | ||
| Boca Juniors | 1 | 0 | 2023 | ||
| Flamengo | 0 | 0 | |||
| Olympiacos | 0 | 0 | |||
| Peñarol | 0 | 1 | 2022 | ||
| AZ | 0 | 1 | 2023 |
| Nation | Titles | Runners-up | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Confederation | Winners | Runners-up | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CONMEBOL | 1 | 1 | |
| UEFA | 1 | 1 |