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England could play Brazil or Argentina in Nations League under radical plans to include all TEN South American teams
ENGLAND could play Brazil or Argentina in the Nations League under revamp plans to include ALL 10 South American teams.
Former Poland and Juventus superstar Zbigniew Boniek revealed the dramatic plans which are designed to provide a money-spinning alternative to Fifa’s World Cup plans.
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South American bosses have renewed their 'memorandum of understanding' with Uefa, which will include a joint office, in London, from the start of next year.
The two confederations are out to destroy all plans coming from Fifa in a show of joint strength.
And their latest plot will see the top six South American countries becoming part of Uefa’s Nations League top tier, with the other four nations joining League B.
It means the Three Lions would be in line to take on at least one of South America’s elite nations in competitive games every two years from 2024, when the new version of the Nations League is envisaged to start.
Boniek, previously head of the Polish FA and still a vice-president of Uefa and member of its ruling executive committee, said after Thursday’s draw which saw England pitted against Italy, Germany and Hungary in June and September: “This will the last Nations League in this formula.
“We had a meeting with Conmebol (the South American confederation) and from 2024, teams from this continent will join the competition.
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“As many as 22 teams will play in League A, as opposed to the 16 now.
“Six of them will be from Conmebol, with the remaining four teams added to League B.
“We are still working on the formula. The schedule of matches is restricted as it is and we can’t mix it up too much.”
Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru and Chile are the current top six-ranked South American teams and their addition would bring a huge new dynamic to the Nations League.
Sceptics will suggest Boniek is just - with the permission of Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin - seeking to force Fifa boss Gianni Infantino to rip up his biennial World Cup plans.
It comes with Ceferin aiming to torpedo those proposals when he arrives for Monday’s 'global summit' meeting armed with a study suggesting Fifa’s scheme would cost European associations up to £2.5bn in lost TV, ticketing and sponsorship income.
Part of that would come from the planned reduction of international windows to one or two each season, as promoted by Arsene Wenger.
Uefa claim the study, by London-based international consultants Oliver & Ohlbaum would bring a 'dark sporting context'.
Euro chiefs say it proves player welfare is at risk from Fifa’s plan, especially for elite stars, while other players will face longer periods of inactivity and fans would lose touch with their national teams.
Uefa said: “Tournaments of such intensity cannot be repeated every year without increasing mental and physical exhaustion of players.
“They would actually find themselves playing even more than one tournament per season, if all qualification matches were staged in one or two long blocks.
“Increasing the number of final tournaments and reducing qualifiers would make players with the busiest schedules play even more, while leaving all the others with less in their calendar.
“A month-long activity of national teams would leave non-international players without competition while their international colleagues would play intensively.
“Clubs would bear the consequences of such inconsistency.
“A calendar that does offer national teams the possibility to test and gradually introduce new players and which may expose them to play an entire qualification cycle without key injured players, would impact the leagues, exposing them to excessively long breaks.
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“That would be detrimental for all.
“Uefa believes that radical changes should be proposed only if they result in clear and unquestionable benefits for the game and its actors.”
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