International Football
BARCELONA, MANCHESTER UNITED SET FOR CONFRONTATION WITH FIFA
Europe’s big clubs spearheaded by FC Barcelona are set to organize a European boycott of FIFA’s new-format Club World Cup.
The FIFA Council has approved plans for a new 24-team Club World Cup to begin in 2021.
The Council approved the idea by 25 votes to seven, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino later saying he was “extremely happy” the idea had been backed.
“Now the world will see a real Club World Cup where fans will see the best teams in the world compete to be crowned the real world champions,” he said.
A FIFA Club World Cup does already exist, but features just seven teams each year from six Confederations.
The new version, if approved by the FIFA Congress on June 5 in Paris, would include eight teams from Europe alone, six from South America, three each from Africa, Asia and North and Central America and one from Oceania.
It would be played during the current international window reserved for the Confederations Cup, which would be scrapped.
It has been reported each participating team could earn £50 million ($66 million/€59 million), but a letter signed by members of the European Club Association (ECA) Board, said “no ECA clubs would take part.”
According to Reuters, the letter has been signed by officials from clubs including Manchester United, Barcelona and Dutch giants Ajax.
“We wish to restate the position of ECA: (a) ECA is unwilling to consider any new or significantly revised competition prior to a holistic assessment of the IMC [International match calendar] post-2024 being conducted and an agreement as to its underlying principles being reached; and (b) in any event, a Club World Cup in June 2021, as proposed by FIFA, is not acceptable in light of the existing competitions and the IMC, which is fixed until 2024,” Reuters reported the letter saying.
According to a FIFA document seen by the Associated Press, FIFA plans for the tournament in 2021 to take place from June 17 to July 4.
That would mean it starting nine days after a period of 2022 World Cup qualifiers and finishing just one day before the start of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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