Global politics in football: FIFA’s sentimental but illogical move will disadvantage some teams at the 2030 World Cup!

FIFA adopted a measure at Wednesday’s videoconference regarding the centenary celebrations of the 2030 World Cup. The final championship will be played on the territory of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. However, the opening matches will be moved to South American territory.

FIFA is making global policy but not thinking about the players themselves

FIFA has made it its mission to unite the football world in the global centenary celebrations of the 2030 World Cup. However, the decision by football’s governing body will disadvantage some teams.

World football’s governing body, headed by president Gianni Infantino, decided on the venue for the 2030 World Cup in a video conference on Wednesday. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the final championship.

Hosting the World Cup in multiple countries does make sense in terms of the globalisation of the sport. However, it will certainly not please the players themselves in particular, in the form of some of the national teams that will make it to the final tournament.

In fact, FIFA decided at the conference that the opening three matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The reason? South American countries bid to host the final tournament because of the historical context.

“In a divided world, FIFA and football are coming together,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, according to FIFA’s official website. “The FIFA Council, representing the entire world of football, unanimously agreed to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup, the first edition of which was played in Uruguay in 1930, in the most appropriate way.”

“As a result, a celebration will be held in South America and three South American countries – Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – will each host one match of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The first of these three matches will, of course, be played in the stadium where it all began, the mythical Estádio Centenario in Montevideo, just in time for the centenary of the World Cup,” he explained the reasons for the choice of the governing body.

The sentimental move will put some teams at a disadvantage

The first World Cup tournament in 1930 was in fact held in Uruguay a century ago. FIFA therefore decided that it would be nice to combine the centenary celebrations of the tournament with this move. However, sentiment simply does not belong in football.

After all, some teams, in addition to beating their opponents, will be travelling several dozen more hours on a plane than others, climate change notwithstanding. Just to give you an idea, it is 10 000 kilometres as the crow flies from Madrid to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.

That means more than 12 hours on a plane just to get there, not to mention the journey back to Europe or Africa after a tough match. While Europe and Africa will be swelteringly hot during the event (June and July), it will be the winter season in South America. Players will also have to contend with a six-hour time difference.

While global unity is a beautiful thing, these factors may play a major role in the later stages of the tournament. Players will have had a busy season at club level and instead of showing their best at the top of the season, they will be spending their time off between games on a plane instead of resting.

Source: FIFA