FIFA wants to do away with the limited-appeal Confederations Cup. Perhaps enamored by the financial success of the Avengers movies, FIFA wants to follow suit with a 24-team Super Club World Cup. The summer tournament would bring in the best clubs from around the world every four years like some sort of Infinity War, because super heroes are better than regular, old, boring heroes.
After initially being mooted in August, more details came out Wednesday on how FIFA will determine the participating clubs. There will be 12 teams from UEFA, five from CONMEBOL and two each from CONCACAF, AFC and CAF. The last spot will either go to Oceania or be fought over by Oceania and another team. The first edition could start in 2021.
The 12 UEFA teams will be made up of the last four Champions League winners, the last four Champions League runners-up and the next four teams with the best UEFA coefficient (or more if clubs, like Real Madrid, reach multiple finals). As it currently stands, only two teams from the English Premier League would qualify: Manchester City and Arsenal.
If the Super Club World Cup were to be held this upcoming summer, the UEFA dozen would be: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich, PSG, Sevilla, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica, Arsenal and Porto.
Super Club World Cup = Avengers movies? Photo: @mellywoodblog | Twitter
Details on how the clubs from the other confederations will be chosen have not been released but it would make sense for CONMEBOL to send its last four winners plus the next-highest ranking club (or clubs). Currently those teams would be Atletico National, River Plate, San Lorenzo, Atletico Mineiro and Boca Juniors. (The Copa Libertadores final second leg will be held later Wednesday night between Gremio and Lanus.)
Determining the other clubs might be more difficult, but a play-in tournament between the four winners would be an interesting way to sort it out.
FIFA already hosts a Club World Cup every year among the winners of each confederation’s top club competition, but few people really care about it because there are usually only two or three decent teams. Only teams from UEFA and CONMEBOL have ever actually won the tournament. FIFA is banking on the idea more people will watch if there are more European teams and it’s hard to argue with such logic. The Avengers movies aren’t popular because they bring in one super hero from each continent but because they bring in the best super heroes in the (Marvel) universe.
FIFA has already determined Qatar won’t host a Confederations Cup in 2021, initially saying another Asian country would host. I think most people would rather watch a Super Club World Cup than a small international tournament. Don’t be surprised if FIFA goes for a Super Club World Cup over the Confederations Cup because when in doubt, FIFA will choose money. That’s why we’re getting so many Avengers movies, not for their critical acclaim but for their commercial appeal.
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