Kuala Lumpur, May 08: FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter has sounded the death knell for the Intercontinental Cup, football's unofficial world title match between the champions of Europe and South America. Blatter, the president of football's world governing body, said the annual play-off staged in Tokyo every December should make way for a re-vamped version of his pet project, the FIFA World Club Championship. Addressing the Asian Football Confederation's 50th anniversary congress, Blatter said the FIFA World Club Championship would be hosted by Japan next year after being cancelled in 2001. He said the Intercontinental Cup was out-dated and needs to be replaced by a tournament that represents all footballing continents rather than just two. "Fifty years ago it was valid to call the Intercontinental Cup the world club championship but it is not valid to call it that anymore," Blatter said. "You cannot be a legitimate world championship when four out of six continents do not have any representation." The first edition of the FIFA World Club Championship took place in Brazil in 2000, but the tournament has been viewed with contempt by powerful European clubs who see it as placing another strain on already over-crowded calendar. Though Blatter did not go into details, sources said next year's tournament, likely to be held either in November or December, would be a streamlined version of the 2000 event. The champions from Asia, Africa, North America and Oceania would play-off in a first round group, with the top two teams advancing to semi-finals against the European and South American champions, who would qualify automatically for the last four. Bureau Report