Three tournament ideas for FIFA to cram into the football calendar… | OneFootball

FIFA’s decision to expand the Club World Cup to a 32-team summer tournament has divided opinion.

Chelsea were victorious in the first edition, with head coach Enzo Maresca insisting the new version could rival the Champions League.

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was less complimentary, calling it “the worst idea ever implemented in football” in relation to an already bursting calendar.

FIFA’s expansion has been labelled as a money-grab by some, with huge prize money on offer for the competing sides as world football’s governing body looks to compete with UEFA’s Champions League cash cow.

With seemingly little care for potential burn-out of top-level players, we’ve come up with three more radical tournament ideas that FIFA could pack into the calendar (Yes, this is tongue-in-cheek).

Three tournament ideas for FIFA to cram into the football calendar

Clash of continents

The World Cup sees the planet’s nations go head-to-head for world glory, but what about an inter-continental competition. A six-team summer showdown featuring superteams from Europe, South America, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Just imagine Argentineans and Brazilians uniting to take on their cross-Atlantic foes? Haaland and Mbappe as striker partners for the Europeans? Europe and South America would no doubt be the favourites, but Africa will consider themselves underdogs.

Look at these for hypothetical XIs and tell me you wouldn’t be interested?

Europe: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold; Saliba, Van Dijk, Mendes; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Haaland, Mbappe, Dembele.

South America: Alisson; Munoz, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Hincapie; Mac Allister, Valverde, Guimaraes; Raphinha, Vinicius, L.Martinez.

North America: Malagón; Dest, Bombito, Scally, Robinson; Alvarez, McKennie, Tillman; Pulisic, Davies, David.

Asia: Suzuki; Sugawara, Min-jae, Khusanov, Ito; Kubo, Morita, Endo, Mitoma; Son, Kang-in.

Africa: Bono; Hakimi, Tapsoba, Diomande, Ait-Nouri; Lookman, Anguissa, Baleba, Marmoush; Salah, Osimhen.

Oceania: Crocombe; Payne, Bindon, Boxall, Cacace; Stamenic, Singh, Bell; McCowatt, Garbett, Wood.

All-Star summer

UEFA might want to muscle in on this too, but best XIs from the world’s top leagues are often discussed. Why not put them to the test? Would the Bundesliga’s best beat La Liga’s leading names? Or will the Premier League powerhouse come out on top?

There’s only one way to find out…

Premier League: Alisson; Timber, Saliba, Van Dijk, Gvardiol; Mac Allister, Rice, Fernandes; Salah, Palmer, Haaland.

La Liga: Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Cubarsi, Balde; Valverde, Pedri, Raphinha; Yamal, Vinicius, Mbappe.

Bundesliga: Neuer; Kimmich, Upamecano, Tah, Davies; Stiller, Palacios, Musiala; Olise, Simons, Kane.

Ligue 1: Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Mendes; Vitinha, Neves, Ruiz; Doue, Kvaratskhelia; Dembele

Serie A: Maignan; Dumfries, Bremer, Bastoni, Dimarco; Pulisic, Barella, Ederson, Leao; Martinez, Thuram.

Over-40 World Cup

Masters football is making its return this September, but what about a veteran World Cup, bringing back old favourites for one last roll of the dice.

Could England’s Golden Generation actually deliver after two decades of reflection?

The football might be a little slower than it once was, but there will be plenty keen to see some iconic names strut their stuff again.

Class is permanent, after all.

Read – Five celebrities who have invested in British football clubs

See more – Osimhen and Mbeumo next? The most expensive African footballers ever

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