The winds of change are blowing in international soccer.
UEFA, the governing body of soccer in Europe, and Concacaf, its counterpart in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, are in discussions about future collaboration, according to reports.
The reports, first by The Guardian and then by other outlets, that UEFA and Concacaf are exploring what a combined Nations League system could look like are the latest indicator that lines are being drawn. The reports go on to say the Asian Football Confederation may also be viewed as a future collaborator.
That's in line with the letter sent by UEFA, Concacaf and the AFC to "the football community" that raised questions about FIFA's current leadership. The organization's president, Gianni Infantino,
proposed that private investment be welcomed into the World Cup, only to withdraw the proposal after facing backlash.
Now, just more than a month after a wildly successful men's World Cup, Infantino is in a battle to convince the 211 member associations who make up FIFA - all of whom belong to regional confederations - that he is still the right person to lead the sport.
But the saga has shaken the foundation on which international soccer has rested since the last major shake-up, when U.S. prosecutors indicted a number of officials on suspicion of wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.
The idea of UEFA partnering with a confederation in the Americas to give fans something novel in Nations League play is not new. It was intended to be part of UEFA's partnership with CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American soccer.
Already, the men's champions and women's champions from the regions meet in the Finalissima, although the showdown between Spain and Argentina that was set for March ended up being postponed when neutral site Qatar was unavailable to host because of war in Iran. A revival of the club challenge was supposed to take place as part of a 2020 Memorandum of Understanding, though it has only led to one match.
And the expectation from leaders in CONMEBOL, including Paraguay FA president Robert Harrison, was that the four years leading up to the next World Cup would be full of collaboration between soccer federations in Europe and South America.
"We’re already qualified, but we’re all going to play qualifiers for positions for a future tournament that will be played against Europeans," Harrison told Paraguayan reporters last last month. "If you stay in fourth place or fifth, you’ll play against Spain, Germany, Europe 1, Europe 2 or Europe 3. If you play against Europe 3, your profit will be almost nothing, if it’s against Europe 2, more and Europe 1 it’s much more. There’s an economic factor that is very, very important in this qualification."
Now, it seems that economic benefit, and the prestige of hosting teams like the reigning world champions may go to teams north of the Darién Gap instead of the South American nations.
It is a shift in the typical alliances. While almost all of the continental confederations play nice and say they'll work together to help the sport grow - and to boost their bottom lines - combining the economic might of European soccer with the burgeoning North American market could reverberate long past the dissipation of the leadership tension.
Of course, Concacaf also was expected to have significant collaboration with CONMEBOL over the next few years. All signs pointed to CONMEBOL once again hosting the Copa América, the South American championship, on American soil in 2028, inviting six Concacaf teams as it did in 2016 and in 2024 when the tournament was last held.
Plenty of fans in North America have long held out hope that their clubs would be able to return to South American competition as well, be it Liga MX teams returning to Copa Libertadores or the consummation of the 'final four' tournament that was part of the partnership the confederations announced in 2023.
Conmebol and Concacaf have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to strengthen and develop football in both regions.
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) January 27, 2023
→ 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America
→ 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup
→ New club competition
More info 🔗 https://t.co/9q6iMhcj7p pic.twitter.com/CqQ41adHYw
Yet, aligning with North America and friends can make a lot of sense for UEFA. Most top European nations have leagues already trying to get a foothold in the region, whether it's the Premier League's push for more fans in the U.S., La Liga's efforts to capitalize on their large fan base in Mexico or leagues promoting their Canadian superstars to a fresh audience. Many European nations maintain strong cultural ties to nations in the Caribbean.
Already the two confederations are the most powerful when it comes to on-field results in the women's game, with Asia just behind as Japan's 2011 triumph stands as the only time a non-UEFA or Concacaf member won the Women's World Cup.
As much as those of us who love the sport in the Americas might not want to admit it, Europe has many of the cards. It is difficult to imagine a men's World Cup without reigning champion Spain or powers like England, Germany or consistent presences in late rounds like Belgium or Switzerland.
Yes, Argentina and Brazil bring tradition, quality and passion. Uruguay is a past champion. But it's hard to imagine even matches between top South American and African teams provoking the same type of emotion a game like Argentina's semifinal against England or Brazil's battle with Norway did.
Perhaps people would tune in for both, but a competition that involves the European greats along with rising talents in Concacaf and potentially Western Asian nations would hold greater appeal than a tournament that sees South America's best vs. Africa's best - with a few East Asian dissenters perhaps mixed in.
Ideally for fans, it never reaches that point. Clearly, the best situation is not having to pick and choose which parts of the world teams come from but rather continuing to enjoy a World Cup that works to have every corner of the world represented.
But neither side looks ready to blink: Infantino wants to continue to run FIFA and leaders in Europe and beyond believe new leadership is best.
After the flurry of statements and developments just after the World Cup, we look to be entering a period of calm - at least if UEFA backs down on its boycott threat and teams participate in the U-20 Women's World Cup as planned. It may lead to more strained moments like Infantino's visit to the Dominican Republic, with plenty of leaders happy to see the FIFA president but many others less pleased.
Things will build ahead of the Nov. 18 registration deadline for a candidate to run against Infantino in March 2027's presidential elections.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin says that won't be him but there will be a challenge if Infantino doesn't leave his post.
“There are two options: One option is that he realizes that he doesn’t have the support, and that’s not only a political support of the ones who vote, but the political support of the football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches," Čeferin told the UK-based podcast The Rest is Politics. “And the second option is that he goes to the elections in March, but in that case I think he will have a candidate against him. I don’t know yet who."
For now, there is speculation about who that person may be, but there are also signs of unity and of a change in the power structure of international soccer that may not be undone for many years – no matter who has the top title.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amid drama, FIFA alliances could change international soccer forever | Opinion
