UEFA-CONMEBOL links “not an alliance against anyone”, says Čeferin

UEFA President, Aleksander Čeferin insisted the ties with CONMEBOL are “not an alliance against anyone” ©Getty Images
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has claimed that the European governing body’s strengthened ties with its counterpart the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is “not an alliance against anyone” at the Congress in Vienna.

Both bodies were among the most vocal critics of proposals to stage the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups every two years, and last month opened a joint office in London.

A match between the men’s continental champions Italy and Argentina is also scheduled for June 1 at London’s Wembley Stadium, branded “the Finalissima”, and South American teams joining the UEFA Nations League has been mooted.

Čeferin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino staged a war of words over the controversial biennial World Cup proposals, with the UEFA President arguing that the plans would “lead to less legitimacy and dilute the World Cup”.

UEFA and CONMEBOL threatened to boycott the World Cup if the proposal to double the number of editions went ahead, but momentum behind the idea has stalled in recent months.

Infantino previously claimed that a World Cup every two years would still retain its “magic”, but at the FIFA Congress in March sought to distance himself from the idea, insisting that “FIFA has not proposed a biennial World Cup”.

At  UEFA Congress at the Messe Wien Exhibition and Congress Center in Austria’s capital, also attended by Infantino, Čeferin said that the organisation’s “strategic alliance” with CONMEBOL is not targeted against any other body.

That would suggest relations between UEFA and FIFA have improved with biennial World Cup plans firmly on the back burner.

The alliance aims “to celebrate more than 50 years of friendship between European and South American football”, Slovenian official Čeferin claimed.

“It’s not an alliance against anyone,” he said.

“It’s an alliance for the good of football.”

Europe and South America are the only two continents that have provided winners of the men’s FIFA World Cup.

Former UEFA secretary general Infantino used the Congress to again address 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar’s record on human rights.

 

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A row erupted at the FIFA Congress in Doha in March when Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness condemned the decision to stage this year’s tournament in Qatar.

More than 95 per cent of Qatar’s construction workforce is believed to be comprised of migrant workers from East Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia, and health and safety failures and non-payment of wages are among the allegations laid against the country.

The Qatari Government claims it has made progress on labour reforms, including a shift away from the kafala system which forced foreign workers to seek their employers’ consent to change jobs or leave the country.

Infantino has previously admitted that “not everything is perfect in Qatar”, but has argued that “exemplary” work had been conducted.

The Swiss-Italian official again cited progress made on human rights issues in defending the host nation.

“It is important on one side to underline the progress that has been made in terms of human rights, in terms of worker rights, with the abolishment of kafala system, with minimum wages for the workers, with measures to protect the health of the workers,” he said, as reported by insideworldfootball.

“It is not FIFA saying it, it is not even Qatar saying it.

“It’s the International Labour Organisation, international trade unions, it is the BWI (Building and Wood Worker’s International).