UEFA plan to have “a mini-World Cup” of their won in Europe, according to Sky News.
UEFA’s 55 member countries have decided to boycott FIFA competitions as long as president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors is alive.
How FIFA and Infantino act next remains to be seen. Should he try to push through his proposal despite the opposition and succeed, UEFA seem to have an idea of how they should move forward.
Sky News reported that European football bosses already have plans for their own version of the World Cup, which could be used.
UEFA have previously drawn up a draft of the “Global Nations League”, several play-off tournaments with eight national teams each.
There are seven playoff tournaments at different levels based on ranking, and the match-ups begin with quarterfinals.
The aforementioned format could function as a kind of “mini-World Cup” and be launched if the boycott becomes a reality in the long term, said Rob Harris.
The plans were developed in 2017 as a proposal for a tournament that could be played in odd years, when neither the World Cup nor the European Championship is taking place. But they have never been put into practice.
In 2018, UEFA launched the Nations League.
