International Football
WORLD CUP 2030 HOSTS TO EMERGE IN 2024
FIFA has confirmed it will select the host for the 2030 World Cup in 2024 and the bidding process will be launched in the second quarter of 2022.
The timeline for the awarding of 2030 tournament was among the key topics discussed at a meeting of FIFA’s ruling Council in Shanghai.
It means the host selected to stage the 2030 World Cup will have just six years to prepare for the event.
Four South American countries are set to bid for the tournament to mark the 100-year centenary since the first World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930.
Britain and Ireland are conducting a feasibility study into a potential bid, but could face another European rival in a joint candidacy from Spain and Portugal.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino suggested in June that a Chinese bid for the 2030 World Cup was possible despite the governing body’s preferred rotational model for selecting the host country.
It is not clear whether China will be eligible to bid for the event as Qatar is staging the tournament in 2022.
Previously, confederations have been excluded from the next two bidding processes once they have staged the World Cup.
But FIFA’s statutes prohibit continents from entering the race for only the next edition after they have played host.
China was today confirmed as the host of the 2021 Club World Cup, the first to be held under the revamped format of 24 teams.
Reports surfaced earlier this week that China was the only candidate to stage the event and FIFA’s Council unanimously appointed the Asian country as hosts.
The cities and venues have not been confirmed and will be decided by FIFA and the Chinese Football Association.
FIFA delayed a decision on how the 24 places will be allocated among the six regional confederations, but reports suggest Europe will be given eight, South America six, Asia three, Central and North America three and Africa three.
Oceania is the only region not guaranteed an automatic berth at the tournament.
The Associated Press reported the winner of the Oceania Champions League would have to playoff against the Chinese champions for the final place.
“The participation model to determine the clubs that qualify from each confederation will be finalised in a consultation process between FIFA and the six confederations,” FIFA said.
The new Club World Cup will be held every four years and replaces the seven-team annual event which has failed to cement itself on the global football calendar.
It will be staged in June-July in a slot previously reserved for the Confederations Cup.
FIFA also announced it would double the amount of investment in women’s football to $1 billion (£776 million/€898 million) in the 2019-2022 cycle, while Tokyo has been chosen as the location for the 2021 Congress.
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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