According to „The Guardian“, these organizations are united by dissatisfaction with Gianni Infantino’s actions and, in particular, the “selling” of rights to organize championships. Both confederations are now working on creating their own biennial tournament, which could start as early as 2028, after the next European Championship.
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Although discussions about the competition have only just begun, it is believed that the strongest European teams would play in Division A, such as Spain, France, England, and Germany, as well as the highest-ranked CONCACAF countries, such as Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
UEFA and CONCACAF started the Nations League competitions in 2018, and the confederations hold matches during the same international breaks, so the mechanisms needed to organize a joint tournament are already in place. The league phase would take place during the existing September, October, and November international breaks, the knockout stage in March, and the finals in June.
Since serious discussions have only started in the past few weeks, the number of teams in each league has not yet been determined, but all 96 UEFA and CONCACAF members would participate, and the majority of the revenue would be pooled into a common fund, thus ensuring significant additional income for smaller countries.
The commercial appeal generated by regular European national team matches in North America and Canada is expected to be huge. Mexico especially hopes for this, constantly complaining about the financial ceiling imposed by playing in CONCACAF.
Mexico has already held preliminary discussions about leaving and joining the South American confederation CONMEBOL – this step would need to be ratified by FIFA, but the prospect of playing lucrative matches against European teams could change opinions.
It is claimed that the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has also expressed interest in joining the global Nations League in the future, although the AFC currently does not run a Nations League tournament itself.
Since joint Nations League matches would take place during already agreed international breaks, it is unclear whether the new tournament would need to be approved by FIFA, which, according to „The Guardian“, is “currently undergoing an existential crisis.” G. Infantino is under pressure as UEFA and CONCACAF seek his removal.
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