THE LONG READ
IS CONCACAF REALLY A SHOO-IN FOR THE 2026 WORLD CUP? Not so long ago, Concacaf’s name was taboo in soccer circles, tainted by years of bribery and corruption. Now, such is the Fifa way, the confederation looks set to be rewarded with the sport’s greatest prize.
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ifa’s decision to expand its World Cup from 32 to 48 teams from 2026 onwards has drawn the inevitable ire of soccer-occupied minds the world over. But while the 48-team proposal LV XQGRXEWHGO\ à DZHG ² QRW OHDVW LQ LWV JURXSV RI WKUHH IRUPDW LWV à DJUDQW disregard for supporter concerns, and its LPSOLFDWLRQV IRU TXDOLI\LQJ ² LW LV IDLU WR VD\ there are few complaints coming out of the Western Hemisphere. Take Conmebol, the governing body for South American soccer, for example. If the reports are true, South America could receive at least six World Cup spots under Fifa’s expansion plan. That amounts to some 60 per cent of Conmebol’s tennation membership, a higher proportion than any other confederation. Yet the real winners reside further north, where there is a growing consensus that the USA will now bid for the 2026 tournament either on its own or in conjunction with either or both of its neighbours, Canada and Mexico. In the months leading up to January’s vote, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati UHIXVHG WR FRQÀUP RU UXOH RXW DQ\ bid, joint or otherwise, until Fifa had outlined the campaign rules. Yet it now seems inevitable that a US-led proposal will be forthcoming, especially with Europe and Asia out of the running due to Russia and Qatar’s hosting of 2018 and 2022 respectively. According to Bloomberg, Victor Montagliani, a Fifa vice president elected to Concacaf ’s presidency in May, met for late-night talks with the leaders of the US and Mexican soccer federations in Zurich in early January. It is not clear exactly what was discussed, but Montagliani has since said a formal World Cup proposal could be presented to Concacaf members ahead of Fifa’s next Congress in Bahrain in May. That proposal is likely to be predicated on the fact that the USA, Canada and Mexico all have much of the infrastructure and facilities required to host 48 national WHDPV DQG PDWFKHV ² XS IURP ²
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already in place. And, as it stands, such a proposal is a compelling one, particularly given only Morocco has so far shown any intention of submitting a rival bid. Incidentally, another entity likely to be rubbing its hands together is Fox Sports. With an expanded slate of teams and matches, the US network’s controversial uncontested February 2015 extension of its deal looks even more of a bargain. Under the 48-team plan, the value of World Cup media rights will LQHYLWDEO\ ULVH ² SRVVLEO\ E\ DV PXFK as US$505 million overall, according WR )LID¡V RZQ SURMHFWLRQV ² DQG LI WKH 2026 tournament is indeed given to North America, it stands to reason that the US rights would be worth far more ² FHUWDLQO\ IDU PRUH WKDQ WKH 86 million Fox paid. More broadly, though, were a Concacaf bid for 2026 to prove successful, it would represent a swift and remarkable change in fortunes for soccer in the Western Hemisphere. Even before those unforgettable raids on Zurich’s Baur au Lac hotel in May 2015, the names of Concacaf and Conmebol were taboo in Fifa circles. Many of Fifa’s top brass, eager to distance themselves from the still-simmering scandal, have willingly pointed out that the federation’s problem was largely an American problem, never mind that its kickback culture was rife elsewhere. “All that corruption was the fault of Americans, south and north,â€? claimed Sepp Blatter, who, slapped with a lengthy ban, sought to vilify “American companiesâ€? that sponsor Fifa for their part in his downfall and branded the USled corruption investigation a direct result of the American “bad losersâ€? missing out on the 2022 World Cup. But herein lies the rub: to the wider world outside of Blatter’s bubble, perhaps even to Gianni Infantino himself, the Americans were seen not as villains, but as heroes. The US authorities, led by the outgoing attorney general Loretta
Lynch and her fellow Feds, were openly thanked by many in the western media, hailed as the only ones powerful enough WR ÀQDOO\ WDNH GRZQ %ODWWHU DQG HQG KLV stranglehold on the world’s game. In the event, the US found itself imbued ZLWK JUHDWHU JOREDO LQà XHQFH 'XULQJ ODVW February’s Fifa presidential vote, Gulati was widely credited with helping engineer the election of Infantino at the expense of Bahraini powerbroker Sheikh Salman, apparently rallying support for the Swiss EHWZHHQ YRWLQJ URXQGV DIWHU ÀUVW EDFNLQJ Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. As many as ten Concacaf member federations switched their allegiances in similar fashion. 2Q UHà HFWLRQ *XODWL¡V VWULQJ SXOOLQJ was a political masterstroke. Not only did he get the president he wanted and, more importantly, a close ally in soccer’s highest H[HFXWLYH RIÀFH EXW LQ SXEOLFO\ EDFNLQJ the victorious candidate he also succeeded in positioning the USA as the clear frontrunner to host the 2026 World Cup. There will, of course, be those who argue that awarding that event to Concacaf would simply be a sensible idea: an operationally sound, commercially lucrative and wholesomely symbolic move that would help draw a line under the malpractice of previous regimes and serve as a kind of second chance for the much-maligned confederation. After Russia and Qatar, it would certainly return a degree of rationality to the World Cup bidding process. On the other hand, though, it might merely be a case of Concacaf posing the best of a bad bunch of options. But let’s not count our chickens just yet. Let’s give world soccer’s powers WKDW EH WKH EHQHÀW RI WKH GRXEW /HW¡V suspend our disbelief for the time being and accept this is not the done deal many are insisting it is. Much remains up for discussion, after all, and there are no guarantees things will play out as widely SUHGLFWHG ² HVSHFLDOO\ DW )LID @_MichaelLong