According to Dale Johnson at ESPN, ten South American nations, including Brazil and Argentina, are set to join the UEFA Nations League when it renews in 2024.
Brazil & Argentina to Join Nations League
News broke out Friday afternoon that South American teams would join the European tournament starting from 2024. This includes iconic football countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, and more.
The announcement comes as the two football bodies plan the “opening of a shared UEFA/CONMEBOL office in London and the potential organisation of a variety of football events.” The expanded version of the Nations League comes as FIFA were due to announce the results of an expanded survey regarding the frequency of World Cups.
“We can safely file this as a clear tactic in opposition to FIFA and its biennial World Cup,” says Dale Johnson
Founded in 2018, the Nations League’s aim was to replace meaningless international friendlies with competitive, exciting football. As of now, only European teams have benefitted as it currently only contains teams from the continent. CONMEBOL members lost revenue and attention due to fewer fixtures with top European teams. With the new format, South American teams will be able to enjoy financial and marketing improvements as they compete in relevant games.
The former head of the Polish FA further confirmed that the current Nations League format will be the last edition. “We had a meeting with CONMEBOL, the confederation of South American countries. From 2024, teams from this continent will join the competition.
“In what format will it be? We’re still working on it. The schedule of matches for the national teams is restricted so you can’t mix it up too much.”
Who Will Be Joining the Competition?
UEFA vice-president Zbigniew Boniek confirmed that “As many as 22 teams will play in League A, in which 16 teams are currently competing. Six of them will be from the CONMEBOL zone. The remaining four teams will be added to League B.”
He further announced that League B and C will remain unchanged following the competition overhaul. Teams joining League A would involve Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. The remaining teams (Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela) would join League B.
ESPN further added that all games are expected to take place in Europe to reduce travelling.
In a move that will surely anger FIFA, UEFA & COMENBOL have strengthened ties over previous years. The two football bodies previously agreed to host a ‘grand final’ between winners of Copa America & the Euro Championships.
The first edition will occur in June 2022 between Argentina and Italy. The expansion of the UEFA Nations League comes as FIFA are rumoured to be launching a Global Nations League. However, a global nations league without the firepower of Europe and South America will attract minimal attention.
The FIFA World Cup has never been won by a team outside Europe or South America, meaning that the loss of these members would be detrimental to FIFA’s future plans.
Main Photo
