UEFA and CONCACAF begin talks over breakaway tournament amid Infantino war

News

FT Desk

UEFA and CONCAFAF, the governing bodies of European and North/Central American football, have commenced talks over a new breakaway international tournament away from FIFA.

Those confederations have been the staunchest opponents to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's now-scrapped plans to sell shares in the World Cup to private equity firms.

UEFA accused Infantino of trying to sell the soul of football and then said none of their member nations would participate in future World Cup tournaments if the plans went ahead. This was one of the main reasons why the proposals were quickly halted, as three out of the four semi-finalists at the 2026 World Cup were European nations.

They want Infantino out either by him resigning or by putting forward their own presidential candidate.

The Guardian reports that the two confederations are in talks for CONCACAF to join UEFA for a combined Nations League.

While plans remain in the early stages, the proposed competition is expected to adopt a format similar to the existing Nations Leagues operated by UEFA and CONCACAF, bringing teams together in multiple divisions based on their level. The league stage would then lead into a knockout tournament, culminating in two semi-finals, then a final to determine the winner.

League A would bring together Europe’s leading nations, including Spain, France, England and Germany, with competitive matches against CONCACAF’s highest-ranked sides, such as Mexico, the United States and Canada, all of whom hosted the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The UEFA Nations League was launched in 2018 to provide European national teams with more meaningful competitive matches instead of relying mainly on international friendlies. Teams play a series of matches within their league, with promotion and relegation between the divisions.

The best-performing teams in League A advance to the knockout stage, with a Final Four tournament ultimately deciding the champion.

The CONCACAF Nations League follows a similar format for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It was launched in 2019, with the first matches taking place that year.

Both of these have traditionally run during the same international breaks, so combining them should be relatively painless from a logistical point of view.