The Club World Cup was established by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship.

Eight club teams were invited to take part: Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia, Corinthians and Vasco da Gama of Brazil, Manchester United of England, Necaxa of Mexico, Raja Casablanca of Morocco, Real Madrid of Spain, and South Melbourne of Australia.

Matches were played in January of 2000 in São Paulo, Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro, Argentina. Teams were divided into two groups for an initial round-robin series, and the top team in each group advanced to the championship game.

The 2001 tournament was cancelled when its announced sponsor withdrew financial support. The FIFA announced plans to resume the championship in 2003, but that also fell through.

Finally, the FIFA decided to merge the new event with the Toyota International Cup. The FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, as it was called, was staged in December of 2005 in Japan. Six teams were invited, one from each continental confederation.

The European and South American champions were given byes while the other four teams played in the tournament's first round, with the two winners advancing to the semi-finals.

In 2006, the competition was renamed the FIFA Club World Cup. The same six-team format was used for that tournament.