Challenge to Infantino! UEFA and CONCACAF want joint Nations League

Challenge to Infantino! UEFA and CONCACAF want joint Nations League UEFA and CONCACAF have begun formal talks to create a joint Nations League that would bring together 96 national teams from Europe, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, according to an exclusive report by British newspaper The Guardian in an article by journalist Matt Hughes . The project, which could launch in 2028 after the end of the next European Championship, represents a new direct challenge to the authority of FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino , amid the leadership and institutional crisis facing world football’s governing body following recent controversies over the commercialization of the World Cup. How would the new competition work? Although negotiations are still at an early stage, The Guardian notes that the tournament structure would mirror the divisional format both confederations already use in their respective Nations Leagues: League-based group stage: League A would feature Europe’s top powers (such as Spain, France, England, and Germany) facing the highest-ranked Concacaf teams (such as Mexico, United States, and Canada) in official matches. A schedule without overload: The group-stage matches would be played during the already approved international windows in September, October, and November. The knockout rounds would take place in March, and the Final Four to decide the champion would be played in June. Logistics and travel: To avoid excessive travel for players, the group-stage matches would be organized in geographic clusters. An economic and institutional boost According to the information provided by The Guardian, one of the keys to this format is the strong commercial appeal of seeing Europe’s biggest powers play official matches on North American soil. Part of the revenue generated from rights sales and sponsorship would be redistributed among the smaller federations, guaranteeing a notable increase in their budgets. The project would also offer an attractive alternative to federations such as the Mexican one (FMF), which had considered exploring options with CONMEBOL given the economic limitations of the regional landscape. In addition, the British newspaper indicates that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has shown interest in joining a globally scoped Nations League in the future, a scenario for which the proposed format would retain the necessary flexibility. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.