Conmebol plans new tournament to replace South American qualifiers | OneFootball

The regulatory body for sports in South America could introduce a new format that would allow Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to participate even though they are already qualified. It grants the same number of spots but counts as an official title for the winner.

Conmebol is considering introducing a Nations League that would serve as a qualifier for the next 2030 World Cup. This tournament will count as an official title for the winner, and there will also be financial prizes. Both Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay—teams that are already qualified for the World Cup because they will host the opening matches—will still be able to participate in this new tournament.

This responds to the need to not reduce the number of matches for each team in the qualifiers, since each one plays nine home games, which are a key source of income from broadcasting rights. By organizing a normal qualifier, there would be three fewer participants, meaning fewer home matches for each country.

In this way, Conmebol plans to create a new competition so that no national team loses the opportunity to earn revenue from TV rights. The decision will be made after the 2026 World Cup, although for now, the project is in an initial phase. It has also not been decided how much money the winner will receive. All that is known is that the champion will add another star to their record and a trophy to their cabinet.

The model is inspired by the qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World Cup, in which South America plays a kind of Tournament or Nations League, awarding two direct spots to the top two teams, while the third and fourth will play an intercontinental playoff rather than facing each other.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.