The FIFA Confederations Cup is an official FIFA tournament, held every four years. In recent times, it has been seen as a warm-up event to the FIFA World Cup™, but is by no means a minor competition. In fact, due to the nature of its participants, it is often referred to as the 'Champions of Champions' tournament.

In the 2009 edition, the continental champions from South America, North and Central America and the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and Asia will join hosts South Africa in competing for the trophy.

The Confederations Cup started life as the King Fahd Cup invitational tournament which pitted hosts and organisers Saudi Arabia against three chosen opponents in 1992 and 1995. It was in 1997 that it became an official FIFA tournament and was renamed the FIFA Confederations Cup. From 2005, the scheduling of this previously biannual competition was changed to see it played once every four years and staged the year before the FIFA World Cup in the Host Country.

Germany have only played in two Confederations Cups, despite being eligible for four. For the 2005 tournament, with Brazil the holders of both the Copa America and the FIFA World Cup, Argentina filled the extra slot, as they had finished runners-up in the Copa America. Curiously, despite its 'Champions of Champions' nickname, the winner of the FIFA Confederations Cup has never gone on to win the FIFA World Cup™ the following year.

Qualification
Italy automatically qualify for the event as incumbent FIFA World Cup champions, and South Africa qualify automatically as hosts of the event.

Each confederation hosts a qualifying tournament for its national member associations, with the format varying from continent to continent. The Copa America acts as the preliminary competition for CONMEBOL. This tournament is also the oldest international tournament still taking place, with the first one having been staged in 1916. Additional nations - generally from CONMEBOL's North and Central American counterpart, CONCACAF - are often invited to participate, but an invitee has yet to reach the final. Uruguay and Argentina have been the dominant force in the Copa America, with 14 titles apiece. The most recent edition of the tournament took place in Venezuela in June and July 2007, with Mexico and USA as invitees, and was won by Brazil.

The first CONCACAF Gold Cup was held in 1991 in the United States. It replaced the CCCF Championship (1941-1961) and the CONCACAF Championship (1963-1971). The participating teams are from North and Central America and the Caribbean Islands but the tournament has been dominated by Mexico and USA, who met each other in the final of the 2007 event. It was the USA who prevailed on that occasion, and they will represent the North, Central America and Caribbean region at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The CAF Africa Cup of Nations is a biennial tournament for the members of the Confederation of African Football. Egypt has won the tournament six times, more than any other nation, although Ghana and Cameroon are close behind with four Cup of Nations titles each. The competition was first played in 1957 and has been staged every two years since. Qualification for the Cup of Nations is always fiercely contested, with 52 countries battling for 16 finals berths. Ghana staged the tournament in 2008, and Egypt repeated their 2006 success, triumping in the tournament and qualifying as Africa's representatives at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The UEFA European Championship, often referred to as the EURO, is the only confederation competition that employs seeding for its preliminary competition. The EURO finals involve 16 teams in four groups of four. Germany have made the most appearances in the finals, qualifying on ten occasions, and have been successful on three of those. The European champions and FIFA Confederations Cup representatives were crowned in Austria and Switzerland in 2008: it was Spain who were rewarded with the title of European champions after a 44-year wait for a major title, and they thereby qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

The AFC Asian Cup is the AFC's preliminary tournament, with the winner automatically qualifying for the FIFA Confederations Cup. The most recent edition of the Asian Cup took place in July 2007, and was staged in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, the first time that four countries have co-hosted the tournament. Historically, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Japan have enjoyed greatest success in in this tournament, winning it three times apiece. Iraq, however, surprised the football world by defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, and securing their place at the FIFA Confederations Cup as champions of Asia.