Platini wants non-European countries at the European Championships

AnfieldEd

I am Leg End
UEFA president Michel Platini wants to invite non-European teams to compete in the European Championship in the future, a report claims.


The Independent on Sunday reports that sides like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Japan could be invited to the tournament as early as 2020.


The tournament increases to 24 teams in 2016 but by inviting non-Europeans, UEFA believe they can make the competition a genuine rival to the World Cup.


The Independent's report says that the plans are still being finalised, let alone approved, but they quote a senior adviser to Platini as saying: "The ideas are at an early stage but they are very feasible. The South Americans have been doing it for decades, inviting teams from outside their continent to take part in the Copa America. So why cannot Europe?”


Since 1993, the Copa America have invited countries from outside of South America into the competition.


Mexico and Japan have both been invited to compete in the next edition in Chile in 2015.


The report says that the idea is "another sign of the growing rift between Platini and FIFA's president, Sepp Blatter."


Platini's adviser says: "Many in FIFA are talking of cutting back Europe’s power, reducing the number of European teams in the World Cup (currently 13 out of 32 in 2014) and also our representation on the FIFA executive (eight out of 24).”


Platini has already got the go ahead for a radical new idea for the 2020 European Championship which will be hosted in 13 cities around the continent as opposed to all being hosted in one or two countries.


32 countries have since declared an interest in hosting matches in that tournament.
 

DennyCrane

Senior Member
And so the political power play starts. Blatter will not be entertained. Does Platini want to succeed Blatter ?
 
F

Flavia

Guest
Another world cup? What for? These power fights ruin the sport.
 

King Leo

Banned
It's a European showing European football flavors and European talents, why invite non-european teams? really stupid idea from Platini!!
 

Cule4life

The Culest
I always knew that platini is certainly not the brightest chap in good ol' France but never knew that his dumbness had sunk below the massive depths of Hades
 

DennyCrane

Senior Member

Thought as much. Gotta wonder where he's going with this, this is basically a war declaration on the FIFA. The way I see it, this wouldn't simply be an EC with an extended number of foreign participants, but be more something like a Cup of Nations, a direct counterpart to the WC.
So, the question would be if teams like Brazil, Argentina etc. or the UEFA countries would even take part in the WC then, given how overstretched the schedule already is. Platini seems to want to take the world to Europe.
The comment by Kevin Garside in Independent today: ' What would TV pay to show a New Zealand v Algeria World Cup final? ' is not even that far fetched then.

Then again, if Platini can successfully challenge Blatter in 2015, this idea will sail straight into the trash bin.
 

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