The tournament brings together club champions from six continents and the host nation.

 

More than 300,000 fans are expected to pack into three of Japan’s world class stadia for the ten days of competition.

 

The FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 kicks off at the Kasumigaoka National Stadium in Tokyo, an iconic venue built for the 1964 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would host Olympic football if Tokyo is chosen more than half a century later as Host City for 2016 Games.

 

Besides Premiership champions Manchester United,  there are six other clubs competing - Australia's Adelaide United, Egypt's Al Ahly, Japan's Gamba Osaka,, Ecuador's Liga de Quito, Mexico's Pachuca and New Zealand's Waitakere United - hoping to be crowned champions of the world.

 

The International Stadium Yokohama, Japan’s largest stadium with room for 72,327 fans and within easy reach of Tokyo, will host the semi-final and final rounds of FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2008 and would be the venue for the Tokyo 2016 football final.

 

Shunichiro Okano, a bronze medalist at the 1968 Games and president of the Japan Football Association during the 2002 FIFA World Cup staged in Japan and South Korea, is excited with the opportunity of seeing a top-class tournament staged in the country again.

 

Okano, who is now an Tokyo 2016 Executive Board member, said: “I am pleased that Japan is again hosting what is one of FIFA’s most prestigious club competitions.

 

"Given its global audience, a competition such as the FIFA Club World Cup demands top-class
facilities and organisation. In recent years,

 

"Japan has successfully staged major international sporting events including the 2002 FIFA World Cup, demonstrating our world-class credentials in these areas.

 

“The 2002 FIFA World Cup had Japan burning with passion for sport like never before.

 

"It also stimulated interest in football among Japanese people of all ages, which, in addition to the increased number of training facilities and competition venues, has been the event’s greatest legacy.

 

“I worked tirelessly to fulfill my dream of bringing the FIFA World Cup to Japan in 2002.

 

"My dream now is to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Tokyo.

 

"Working together with an ever-increasing number of supporters, I’d like to help realise that dream.”

 

Dr Ichiro Kono, the chairman and chief executive of Tokyo 2016, said: “Japan is passionate about sport, and football is no exception. It has universal appeal and events such as this demonstrate the immense power of sport to unify worlds and bring together many different cultures and generations peacefully and harmoniously.

 

“Thanks to strong infrastructure and incredible venues, Tokyo is well-equipped to stage leading global sports events.

 

 

"We hope that this will enable us to stage the biggest sporting event of all in the heart of Tokyo in 2016, uniting generations in Japan and across the world with sport and healthy living.”