Urgent! UEFA prepares global tournament to replace the World Cup!
World football is already preparing a backup plan in case of a historic split.
Details: According to Sky News journalist Rob Harris, UEFA has a fully developed project for its own global tournament that could be used if there is a boycott of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions. We're talking about a Global Nations League with regional qualification and final tournaments for eight national teams.
The concept involves holding seven final tournaments at once. Each division, formed based on rankings, will feature eight teams. All tournaments will start from the quarterfinal stage and be hosted in different countries.
The Nations League format, launched by UEFA in 2018, could become the European part of the qualification process. Winners of the regional groups would advance to intercontinental finals, which were originally planned for June of every odd-numbered year.
The project was first developed back in 2017, shortly after Gianni Infantino left UEFA to become FIFA president, but it was never implemented. Now, the old plan could get a new lease on life and essentially become an alternative to the World Cup.
The trigger for a possible split was FIFA's intention to sell up to 20% of a new commercial entity—worth around $20 billion—to external investors, which would manage the assets of the organization's major tournaments. On July 30, UEFA and all 55 European associations backed a boycott of FIFA competitions if the deal goes through. CONCACAF has also publicly opposed the initiative.
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Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
