Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
Sports => Football => Topic started by: Andre on May 23, 2012, 09:34:04 AM
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serious talk Jeffrey????
who capable?
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) New CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb says a team from his soccer confederation should win the 2026 World Cup.
Webb made the declaration Wednesday after he was elected to lead 40 soccer nations of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The Cayman Islands banker was the only candidate to succeed disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner. He resigned last June to avoid an investigation of a bribery scandal.
Webb told his members: ''The 2026 World Cup belongs to CONCACAF.''
FIFA President Sepp Blatter hailed Webb's election to the post, saying: ''The credibility of CONCACAF is back.''
One year ago, Webb's home country was one of four whistle-blowers on allegations of bribery, involving a longtime Caribbean strongman, Warner and Qatar's Mohamed bin Hammam, who attempted to run against Blatter.
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I does cyar handle men who like to talk chupidness when they get in a big post.
Is not reach 2nd rounds he say yuh know..is not reach quarter finals yuh know..is win the holy grail he say.
Den again he mussbe mean USA or Mexico to take it...yeah that possible.
Not we coconut tree, shade sitting, rum drinkers..
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He didn't say anything out of place there in my eyes!
Yuh have to show ambition for your federation as a new leader but let's hope he was serious and not giving us old talk as most politicians tend to do after winning an election when the feel good factor is high! :beermug:
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I does cyar handle men who like to talk chupidness when they get in a big post.
Is not reach 2nd rounds he say yuh know..is not reach quarter finals yuh know..is win the holy grail he say.
Den again he mussbe mean USA or Mexico to take it...yeah that possible.
Not we coconut tree, shade sitting, rum drinkers..
even this ah cyar handle...
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Den again he mussbe mean USA or Mexico to take it...yeah that possible.
The verdict is out on Webb. Even though it appears to be "mouthin" by Mr. Webb, I don't think he is saying anything outrageous. Mexico, with some luck can go very far. They and o lesser extent the US have the qualities to do Concacaf proud in a WC. Let us see what he has in store for CFU first before we start crucifying the man. CFU and Concacaf are the least of TT problem. Jack, TTFF(Watson, Taylor) and Anil are the impediment to the national team going anywhere.
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I think it safe to say that in my lifetime NO CONCACAF nation will win the World Cup.
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I think it safe to say that in my lifetime NO CONCACAF nation will win the World Cup.
If chelsea could win a CL on luck anything possible
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CONCACAF insists on hosting 2026 WC
T&T Express Reports.
The governing body for soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) is insisting that it should be allowed to host the 2026 World Cup tournament. CONCACAF lost its place in the queue when the world’s governing body FIFA abandoned its rotational policy after selecting Brazil as the 2014 host.
FIFA’s decision to award the 2018 tournament to Russia and the 2022 event to Qatar meant that CONCACAF would have to wait at least 32 years between tournaments after the US hosted the 1994 World Cup.
“From a CONCACAF perspective, our focus for the World Cup is 2026. We’re committed to that,” CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb told a news conference in Manhattan on Tuesday. “CONCACAF was obviously hard done (by) when (the) rotation stopped; we were the ones who lost out because it should have been our turn after Brazil. When the rotation stopped, obviously it impacted us the most.”
The US, Canada and Mexico have all expressed interest in hosting the 2026 World Cup. However Webb is encouraging the region to throw its weight behind one bid, although he did not rule out the possibility of a co-hosting arrangement.
“Obviously we believe our best chances is to put one member forward, one country forward, one bid forward, that gives us our best opportunity,” he said. “CONCACAF has 35 votes and of course if you split those votes amongst ourselves you’re defeating the purpose.”
The only co-hosted World Cup finals so far were organised by Japan and South Korea in 2002. FIFA has since said that any future joint bids would have to be organized under a single committee. Officials believe the US could join forces with either Mexico or Canada for 2026 if the countries could reach an agreement.
“I think it is very much possible,” said Webb. “FIFA did it in the past in 2002 with Japan and Korea and the experience from that was not too well.
“Obviously there are various costs and so forth increased by having two different local organizing committees in two different countries so from that standpoint I thought it (2002) was a logistical nightmare from my memory, but definitely it’s a possibility.”
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Glad to hear it, it'd be nice for the region to get a bit of recognition. Mexico hosted in 1970 and 1986,and the USA in 1994, maybe a co-hosting between the US and Canada might be nice to improve the profile in Canada. Obviously I'd prefer a Trinidad hosting :p, but maybe a Caribbean co-hosting is a couple decades off
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Scene: Office of Caribbean Football Union President, Gordon Derrick.
The telephone rings.
“Good morning, Bonjour, Buenos Dias, Goedemorgan, Guten morgen, Chow Baby, Gordon Derrick speaking.”
Photo: Recently elected CFU president Gordon Derrick
“Uhm, Good morning, Mr Derrick. Sepp Blatter here.”
“Ah, your Lordship. How are you, sir?”
“I’m very well, Mr Derrick. However, I have a couple of concerns that I need to discuss with you.”
“Fire away, your Highness.”
“Well, the first issue concerns a conflict of interest involving your football team, Antigua Barricuda. Does it seem fair to you that your team should gain automatic entry to the CFU Club Championship on the grounds that you are the President of the CFU?”
“Why not, your Majesty? If you recall, Mr Warner’s team, Joe Pubic, often competed in the CFU Championship.”
“Yes, but his team had to qualify; yours gets automatic entry.”
“But anybody can put together six or seven professional teams in Antigua and Barbuda and form a professional league. That would then give them an opportunity to represent the nation in the CFU alongside Barracuda.”
“So, if there is a professional league, Barracuda would take part and qualify that way?”
“O Great One, don’t be naive. Barracuda play in a far superior league to any local leagues. They would always receive automatic entry.”
“But don’t you see that it then appears you are giving your own team an advantage?”
“Your Highness, you will always get jealous people trying to criticise and cause trouble. Now what was the second problem?”
“Ah, yes. Your application to Mr Platini to host the 2020 Euros in the Caribbean.”
“Yes. A fantastic proposal, don’t you think, M’Lord?”
“Well, it’s certainly novel. But one of the key elements of the Euros is that they are held, well, in Europe.”
Read more ....
http://wired868.com/2012/07/01/euro-2020-is-coming-to-the-caribbean-maybe/
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Didn't Antigua Barracuda fold? Antigua has a league - the two teams eligible by that criteria are SAP and Parham - last time I checked the regulations of the CFU Club Championship stipulate that every member nation has the right to one representative, and I thought (but can't find the file now, the new ones have a http error - http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/latest-news/9290-2014-cfu-club-champions-cup-regulations) that was specifically said to be the champion of the highest competition in the country (in some it would be a cup).
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Didn't Antigua Barracuda fold? Antigua has a league - the two teams eligible by that criteria are SAP and Parham - last time I checked the regulations of the CFU Club Championship stipulate that every member nation has the right to one representative, and I thought (but can't find the file now, the new ones have a http error - http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/latest-news/9290-2014-cfu-club-champions-cup-regulations) that was specifically said to be the champion of the highest competition in the country (in some it would be a cup).
Tiresais, I think this is satire and was written a while ago when Gordon Derrick was President!
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Didn't Antigua Barracuda fold? Antigua has a league - the two teams eligible by that criteria are SAP and Parham - last time I checked the regulations of the CFU Club Championship stipulate that every member nation has the right to one representative, and I thought (but can't find the file now, the new ones have a http error - http://www.cfufootball.org/index.php/latest-news/9290-2014-cfu-club-champions-cup-regulations) that was specifically said to be the champion of the highest competition in the country (in some it would be a cup).
Tiresais, I think this is satire and was written a while ago when Gordon Derrick was President!
Hah indeed. The 3 American-league teams always had a guaranteed entry, which seemed a little off to me.
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Luis Figo wants to increase WC participants. He will be running for the president post next FIFA election.
From BBC:
Luis Figo: Fifa candidate wants World Cup with 48 teams
Luis Figo would consider a bigger World Cup if he is elected to replace Sepp Blater as Fifa president.
Releasing his manifesto at Wembley Stadium, the legendary Portugal midfielder said he would look at increasing the number of teams from 32 to 40 or even 48.
Figo, 42, is one of three candidates challenging Blatter in the election on 29 May.
He also proposed sin-bins and reverting to the old offside rule interpretation.
Dutch federation president Michael van Praag and Jordanian Prince Ali bin Al Hussein are also in the running to become head of football's world governing body.
Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan winger Figo, who played at two World Cups, said on Thursday that the current format could be increased to 40 teams or Fifa could stage two 24-team competitions simultaneously on two continents, followed by a knockout phase in one nation.
He said: "Both these options are feasible with an extra three to four days of tournament play. If this expansion were to take place I believe that additional teams should come from non-European nations.
"We not only make sure that we include more countries from across the world, but also enable Fifa to raise significant increased revenues that can be used to invest in the growth of the game globally."
Figo, the 2001 Fifa world player of the year, also proposes:
Spreading half of Fifa's $2.5bn revenue over four years to associations to fund grassroots football.
Redistributing $1bn of Fifa's $1.5bn cash reserves to the 209 national federations.
Increased use of technology in the game, using sin-bins for unsporting behaviour.
Reverting back to the previous interpretation of the offside rule, "where a player is judged offside whether directly involved in the play or not".
Blatter, 78, has been Fifa boss since 1998 and said in June 2014 that he intended to run for a fifth term.
He was criticised for Fifa's handling of Michael Garcia's report into alleged corruption during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31531664
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North America emerging as leading candidate to host 2026 World Cup.
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
ZURICH -- North America became a stronger candidate to host an expanded World Cup in 2026 after the FIFA Council agreed on Friday that European and Asian nations should not bid again so soon after Russia hosts the 2018 World Cup and Qatar has the 2022 tournament.
"That has changed the landscape [of the 2026 contest] a little bit," said U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, a council member.
FIFA said Europe would be put on standby only if "none of the received bids fulfill the strict technical and financial requirements."
That's unlikely if the United States bids as expected, either alone or together with Canada and Mexico.
FIFA favours co-hosting among regional neighbours, and a three-way bid could be more popular if the tournament grows to 40 or 48 teams under president Gianni Infantino's plans.
A decision will be made on whether to expand the tournament on Jan. 9-10, when the FIFA Council next meets in Zurich.
FIFA has targeted 2020 for its member federations to choose the 2026 host.
But Infantino, who was elected this year after promising voters a 40-team World Cup, stopped short of declaring North America as the most likely host region.
"It is still too early to say that," Infantino said. "We hope we have many bidders and we can choose ... who the best bidder is."
Still, CONCACAF, the regional body for North and Central America and the Carribean, has long been seen as the natural host for 2026, and its claim got stronger following Friday's developments. The United States was the last country in the region to stage the tournament in 1994.
"The answer is 'Sure,' it would be silly to say anything but that," Gulati said of a contest that could also include bids from Africa and South America.
CONCACAF lost out when a hosting rotation system approved during Sepp Blatter's presidency was abandoned before its scheduled turn in 2018 came around.
Back then, FIFA preferred to block continents from two World Cup bidding contests after hosting, but when statutes were updated in recent reforms, the rule said only one tournament had to be skipped.
Gulati said the new clarity in bidding would encourage an entry from the United States, which could be open to co-hosting with a neighbouring country.
"We now know some of the rules," said Gulati, FIFA's top American official. "We will look at it. We have great relationships with Canada and Mexico.
"We also have a country with 320 million people that has hosted a World Cup and with a lot of terrific stadiums and great infrastructure."
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48 teams feature in World Cup 2026.
By Jelani Beckles (Newsday).
FORMER national footballers Clayton Morris and Angus Eve have contrasting views on the decision by FIFA to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup to 48 teams at the 2026 edition.
Yesterday, in Zurich, Switzerland FIFA members voted unanimously for the change from 32 to 48 teams. Since the World Cup began in 1930 the number of teams have increased throughout the years but the 16-team jump is the largest in the history of the tournament. At the inaugural competition in 1930, 13 countries competed, while 16 lined up in 1934, 15 in 1938 and 13 in 1950. From 1954 to 1978, 16 teams participated in the top football tournament, before 24 teams battled for World Cup glory between 1982 and 1994. Since the 1998 edition 32 nations have played in the World Cup.
In the current format, the CONCACAF region has three and a half spots in the World Cup, but the increase in teams may see CONCACAF getting six and a half spots in the World Cup.
Former Trinidad and Tobago Strike Squad captain Clayton Morris likes the move by FIFA to expand the tournament. He said, “I think it is a good incentive because every player’s dream is to play in a World Cup. They are giving everybody the opportunity to aspire to the highest level. “ Morris believes more countries will be driven to qualify for the World Cup.
“Other countries which at the moment may be lower than T&T in the FIFA standings would be all excited just as we are, which means they would step up their preparation, I know everybody would want to be on that stage so that makes it even tougher for us to get there and to maintain our level above them.” Asked if the standard of the World Cup will drop with more teams participating Morris explained, “It all depends on the domestic leagues in the different countries, if they keep to that (high) level I can’t see the World Cup standard dropping because that is what everybody would be aspiring to meet.”
Morris hopes the next generation of players would be inspired to became footballers and play at the World Cup. The former Strike Squad captain stated that with the increase in teams T&T should qualify for every World Cup from 2026 if proper planning is implemented like CONCACAF giants such as Mexcio, USA and Costa Rica.
Eve does not agree with the decision by FIFA. Eve stated, “I think it is kind of ridiculous, the players have so much football to play right now in respective clubs.
It tends to waterdown the tournament because by the time they reach the World Cup most of the players are usually tired by that time, the better players.” Eve, who believes it is a money making initiative by FIFA, said if more teams participate at the World Cup some of the countries will not be able to compete with the top football nations.
“To me the World Cup is a showpiece, you don’t want to waterdown something like that, it is every four years just as the Olympics. There is a qualifying mark that you have to get if you have to run in the Olympics so the standard of competitiveness is always maintained.
“I don’t think six CONCACAF teams could compete in a World Cup, I don’t think six African teams could compete in a World Cup. You are looking for the best teams to play so the competition would be competitive.”
Eve believes there is talent in T&T to qualify for future World Cups but the problem lies at the administrative level. “From what I am seeing from T&T, I think we definitely have ability, I think we have young players with a lot of ability and they are getting good experience on the outside (foreign leagues), but I have always said that our problem in T&T is administrative.”
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FIFA's new 48-team format means we could see Tahiti vs Curacao! Welcome to the 2026 World Cup.
By Martin Samuel (dailymail.co.uk)
With the certainty of night following day, the members of the FIFA council voted through their wallets for a 48-team World Cup from 2026.
And now the fun begins. For the downside is not the 48th best team in the world lowering the standards at what should always be a globally representative, but elite, competition; it is the 148th.
Tahiti. The 148th-strongest team in the world but, if qualification reflected the FIFA rankings, one that could soon be a play-off away from the World Cup finals, as runners-up in the Oceania confederation. FIFA did not vote on the precise composition of their monster — let's call it the FrankenCup — because they prefer to eke out the nasty surprises, like all good horror auteurs.
But the clever money is on 16 for UEFA, nine from Africa, 8.5 from Asia, 6.5 for North and South America respectively and 1.5 for Oceania. The fractions represent play-off matches, so the lowliest qualifiers from Asia, North America, South America and Oceania would compete for two spots. And that would leave the door open for Oceania's second strongest to qualify: Tahiti.
This is not to dismiss their hard work or improvement. In 2012, Tahiti became the first country other than Australia or New Zealand to win the OFC Nations Cup — although Australia had decided they were Asian by then, so Tahiti's cup run consisted of two matches with New Caledonia and fixtures against Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Samoa.
They then went, by right, to the 2013 Confederations Cup, where they charmed everybody by showing tremendous spirit despite leaking 24 goals in three matches. They even scored in a 6-1 defeat by Nigeria.
And that is meritocracy in action. Tahiti were Oceania's champions. They deserved their place in Brazil just as Auckland City, Oceania's club champions, deserved their entry to the 2016 Club World Cup.
Yet what FIFA's council did on Tuesday went too far. A quarter of the planet is not a finals. Tahiti, as Oceania's second best, could end up playing the ninth strongest team in Asia — currently Qatar, 87 in the world, according to the rankings — for a place in the World Cup; or the seventh best team in North America, Curacao, ranked joint 75th. Tahiti versus Curacao. This is not a fixture that shouts elite competition. This is a holiday dilemma for windsurfers.
And it is an elite competition, the World Cup finals. The clue is in the word 'finals'. The idea that expansion is a noble aim because it gives everybody a go betrays the essence of the tournament. Yes, the World Cup should be open to all. But it is. Everybody competes from San Marino to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. But when it gets down to those late stages it should be all about the best.
That is the point of a final, in football, athletics, or any event. Only seven sprinters get to stand on the start line with Usain Bolt, because heats and semi-finals narrow the field to the most outstanding. Yes, in the heats, inferiors get their turn. But not in the final. The final is about The Best.
While attaching that claim to their latest round of overblown awards as a rebranding exercise, FIFA are ensuring the World Cup will be about the best no longer. It will welcome teams from outside the top 80, maybe the top 100, because this will guarantee more votes for president Gianni Infantino.
It will expand and expand, until China are almost certain to be in, because there is nothing FIFA love more than a dictatorship with a few quid. To argue that FIFA have not demeaned their competition is to argue that the athletes who ran a 48th best time of 10.36sec to Bolt's 9.81 had as much right to be on the start line for the Olympic 100metres final in Rio as he did.
We wish Solomon Bockarie, Vitor Hugo dos Santos and Zhang Peimeng well, but at some stage we want to see only Bolt and his genuine challengers in those eight lanes.
In 2018, there will be 14 from UEFA — including Russia as hosts — five from Africa, 4.5 from Asia and South America, 3.5 from North America and 0.5 from Oceania. It is easy to see where FIFA president Infantino is now targeting votes. Asian participation doubles despite not getting a team out of the group stage in 2014.
North America also does well having put one country in the quarter-finals since 2002, while Africa goes up from five to nine, despite providing just six of 80 knockout places in the World Cup's last five editions — including the first tournament to be held on the African continent.
In this, Infantino is no different from Sepp Blatter. He picks off confederations with glorified bribes — in this case the promise of £5.29billion in revenue and a berth at the big one even if, like China, you happen to be the 82nd best team in the world.
And this is all before we consider the travesty of the three-team group, with two progressing, which no amount of artificial rendering can overcome. The format is simple: A versus B, A versus C, B versus C. So if B and C beat A, then game three, B versus C, is a dead rubber.
And with 16 groups, there could be plenty of them. Equally, if A beats B, C beats A, then B beats C, all teams have three points. With so few matches, goal difference or goals scored might be level, too.
There is the potential for confusion on a par with Albania having to hang around at Euro 2016 only to be eliminated three days after their last game, when the third-place shake-up was calculated. Games might be decided on the toss of a coin, or a countback to qualification records. And first or second won't matter because the random nature of an overblown tournament will make knockout seeding irrelevant. In this case, three is certainly no magic number.
Already, tied games will require penalty shootouts in a bid to halt collaboration, meaning mediocre teams — and there will be plenty more of them from 2026 — can progress by playing for penalties. Anyone who saw Steaua Bucharest use that tactic to overcome Barcelona in the 1986 European Cup final will know how stultifying it can be.
'The more the merrier,' said Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigerian Football Association. But it wasn't merry at the European Championship this summer. It was a dull, low- scoring tournament, played on the counter-attack, or between workmanlike, massed defences, the quality diluted by a bloated 24-team format. Yet as FIFA have now proved, that was only the half of it.
HOW THE NEW FORMAT WILL WORK AT THE 2026 WORLD CUP
Q: How will the group stages look?
Every team play twice in their three-team group. The top two advance to the last 32, when the knockout stages begin. Group matches ending in a draw could be decided by a penalty shootout to stop any final-game collusion.
Q: What other impact will 48 teams have?
More teams means more games. Eighty matches will take place, as opposed to the current 64. However, if a team reach the final, they will have played a total of seven matches, the same total as the current format.
Q: Where will the 2026 World Cup be held?
Not known yet, but the United States are expected to make an offer. They could be sole bidders, or come forward with a joint proposal alongside Mexico or Canada.
Q: Why did FIFA want the World Cup expanded?
Infantino vowed to increase the number of teams when he was campaigning to replace Sepp Blatter. His proposal appealed to a lot of the 211 FIFA members, many of whom do not normally qualify. Confederations outside Europe have felt disadvantaged for many years.
Q: When was the last time the World Cup was revamped?
Its inception in 1930 saw 13 countries take part. Only 16 qualified for the finals until the 1982 edition in Spain, where 24 teams competed. The current format of 32 teams has been used since the 1998 tournament in France.
Q: Who would get the extra 16 World Cup spots?
Yet to be confirmed.
One proposal could see Europe's allocation rising from 13 to 16 teams with Africa the biggest beneficiaries gaining an extra four places to nine. Asia would get 8.5 places, North and South America 6.5 each and Oceania 1.5. The half-places represent play-off spots, with the lowest qualifiers from Asia, North America, South America and Oceania battling for two places.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: 'Confederations all have wishlists in terms of how many slots they would like. Discussions are going to take place but nothing is decided.'
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With DJW and his minions we still eh making it
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Nahhh that's why he hire saintfeit...he know we going 2026 :rotfl:
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There will hardly ever be two minnows playing each in this new format. With 16 groups of 3 it will be more of a combination of 1 weak team with 2 stronger teams. There may even be more death groups in the 16 as well.
My only concern is more knockout rounds, some of those games even if its two top teams turn out to be really poor. Group games tend to be a bit more open and entertaining.
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I am glad that it will be expanded. Yes, more minnows will be allow in. There will be lopsided scores, so friggin what! That is part of football. There will be upsets, I will guarantee that. But I think many of the minnows will be prepare because of the limit for margin of error. Just look at the recent 3 team tounament in TT. It was exciting, but not for us Trinis. A 3 team group will force country to prepare their teams better. The very first game for each team will be pivotal.
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John Williams: More teams at W/Cup positive.
T&T Guardian Reports.
The decision by the world governing body for football-FIFA, to expand the amount of teams in the World Cup to 48 has been described as a positive move for T&T, said David John-Williams, the T&T Football Association president. Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner, has however described it as foolish.
The FIFA Council unanimously decided in favour of expanding the World Cup to a 48-team competition as of 2026, following a third meeting of football’s supervisory and strategic body at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland on January 9th and 10th. From the new format, the 48 national teams will be split into 16 groups of three, and the top two will advance to a 32-team knockout stage.
A report yesterday stated that the new 48-team format has been drawn up in such a way that there is no reduction in the overall number of rest days and a guaranteed maximum of seven matches for the teams reaching the final, while the current 32-day tournament duration is kept, so as not to increase the length of time for which clubs have to release their players.
Yesterday, John Williams said he found the change to be very interesting and positive, noting he will now look forward to what will be the allocation of teams for the Concacaf region, as well as the qualifying format.
The changes also include a merger of the CONMEBOL and the CONCACAF- the Confederation of North America, Central American and the Caribbean Football Federations.
CONMEBOL currently has four-and-a-half places for its 10 members, while CONCACAF has 35 FIFA members battling for three-and-a-half places. The local football boss refused to comment on whether he feels the merger will make it even more difficult for T&T to qualify for the World Cup, as it could face the mights or Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay, Paraguay, Chile and other top South Amnerica nations, as well as what the top teams from the CONCACAF, such as Costa Rica, USA, Mexico and Honduras among others.
According to John Williams, “We will just have to wait and see what the qualifying format will be like. I do not want to speculate what it will be, but what I do know is that we will definitely have to improve our performances on the field.” T&T are currently second from bottom in the CONCACAF qualifiers having lost both opening matches of the Final Round to Costa Rica 2-0 at home and Honduras 3-1 in San Pedro Sula.
Meanwhile, Warner believes it was foolish to expand the amount of teams in the World Cup, saying attempts should have been made to provide assistance to the weaker footballing nations first.
Warner who had provided a presence in world football’s decision-making for smaller Caribbean Football Union countries, said such a decision could not have been accepted had he been there, as he believes it will destroy the CFU. He described the decision as political.
According to Warner he cannot see any country that can host a World Cup tournament of 48 teams.
The decision came following a thorough analysis, based on a report that included four different format options, namely sporting balance, competition quality, impact on football development, infrastructure, projections on financial position and the consequences for event delivery.
The Council is set to discuss further details regarding the competition, including the slot allocation per confederation at its next meeting.
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I don't think Conmebol and Concacaf should merge. If Mexico, US, CR want to go that is their choice.
Meanwhile, Warner believes it was foolish to expand the amount of teams in the World Cup, saying attempts should have been made to provide assistance to the weaker footballing nations first.
Shut your arse, you had 20 yrs to do that and you and your buddies tief the money.
According to Warner he cannot see any country that can host a World Cup tournament of 48 teams.
Shut your arse again. Japan and Korea co-hosted. Why can't US and Mex, or US and Canada, or US, Canada, Mex host it. Britain can co-host. France and Italy. Spain and Portugal. Sweden, Denmark, Norway. Argentina and Uraguay. Colombia, Euador and possibly Venezuela. Ghana and Nigeria. China by itself. You vex you not in the money pit again.
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I don't know why journalism is so bad in T&T.
They reporting that concacaf/conmebol merger as fact when it is pure speculation at this point because the slot allocation as well as qualifying procedure is yet to be worked out.
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I don't know why journalism is so bad in T&T.
They reporting that concacaf/conmebol merger as fact when it is pure speculation at this point because the slot allocation as well as qualifying procedure is yet to be worked out.
The same can be said for management and admin
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If concacaf and conmebol merge we goose cook, weaker SA teams like Venezuela and Boliva will stand a chance of qualifying before us.
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If concacaf and conmebol merge we goose cook, weaker SA teams like Venezuela and Boliva will stand a chance of qualifying before us.
Cfu needs two and a half spots
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Yorke has mixed views on expanded World Cup.
By Shaun Fuentes (Guardian).
Former national captain Dwight Yorke was in esteemed company in Zurich as he joined the likes of Diego Maradona and FIFA President Gianni Infantino for a mini-tournament at the FIFA head quarters featuring some of the best players to ever play the game.
Yorke was involved with the likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Carles Puyol, David Trezeguet, Eric Abidal, Marco Van Basten, Marcel Desailly and Women’s Player of the Year, American Carli Lloyd.
Yorke among all the ex-stars were guests at the Best FIFA football awards on Monday.
While in Zurich, Yorke took the opportunity to comment on the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams.
“My biggest concern is that I don’t want the competition to have that loss of cutting edge, that sort of excitement,” he said.
“Everyone wants a piece of the pie and it is great to see but at the same time we need to make sure and safeguard that the football is the same quality that is aspired (to) and people expect to see when the World Cup comes around,” said Yorke.
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Gulati says U.S. WC bid 'secondary' to President Trump immigration ban
BY DOUG MCINTYRE (ESPN).
SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said on Sunday that the American federation still hasn't decided whether it will bid for the 2026 World Cup, while adding that he's taking a wait-and-see approach to how President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration might impact the potential bid.
"Sports obviously involves international movement and free movement of players, of ideas," Gulati told a small group of reporters at half-time of the U.S. men's national team's scoreless tie in a friendly match against Serbia.
"How this plays out in terms of international events, I think that's frankly a secondary issue right now. The issue involving the executive order and its implications are far broader than that."
Gulati declined to comment when asked if the United States Soccer Federation had a public stance on the highly controversial order, which temporarily bans entry to the U.S. of all refugees and most visitors from seven majority Muslim countries and sparked protests throughout the country and criticism from some governments around the world.
But Gulati also said he had no problem with U.S. captain Michael Bradley, who slammed Trump on Saturday in a message posted to his Instagram account, voicing his opinion.
Bradley wrote: "When Trump was elected, I only hoped that the President Trump would be different from the campaigner Trump [and] that the xenophobic, misogynistic and narcissistic rhetoric would be replaced by a more humble and measured approach to leading our country. I was wrong. The Muslim ban is just the latest example of someone who couldn't be more out of touch with our country."
Of the Bradley post, Gulati said: "I saw Michael's comments yesterday and they were clearly heartfelt. Absolutely no issue whatsoever."
As for if the current political climate in the country could influence whether the U.S. bids for the 2026 competition alone or along with one or both of North American neighbors Mexico and Canada, Gulati said the federation would continue to consider its options.
Earlier this month, FIFA approved the expansion of the competition from 32 to 48 teams in 2026, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said repeatedly that he's open to having two or more countries co-host the planet's biggest sporting event.
"We haven't made any commitments about '26," Gulati said. "The rules still haven't been completely clarified, although more of them are now known in terms of numbers of teams, joint bids, but the process is still very much up in the air. Until we know more about that we'll sit tight.
"We're challenged by a number of things that are going on in the world. So let's see how those play out over the next few weeks before we make any decision about co-hosting or going alone or bidding at all."
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It appears to be a tri-country bid. Mexi-Can-USA.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/02/16/fifa-wants-shared-2026-world-cup-the-u-s-mexico-and-canada-already-were-planning-on-it/?utm_term=.5c9739449f37#comments
Soccer leaders in the United States, Mexico and Canada already were talking about a joint bid for the 2026 World Cup, so they likely were well prepared for FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s announcement Thursday that FIFA will encourage bidders for soccer’s biggest tournament to partner up.
“We will encourage co-hosting for the World Cup because we need FIFA to show we are reasonable and we have to think about sustainability long-term,” Infantino said, per Reuters. “[We could] … maybe bring together two, three, four countries who can jointly present a project with three, four, five stadiums each. We will certainly encourage it. Ideally the countries will be close to each other.”
The idea that one nation should host large sporting events like the World Cup or the Olympics has come under question of late considering the staggering costs associated with building facilities that become underused once the event ends. In Brazil, which hosted the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, a number of publicly financed facilities built for those events already have fallen into a state of disrepair because of local arguments over who will maintain them. Sharing events such as the World Cup or Olympics would lessen the financial blow for countries that want to host.
With its neighbors as partners or not, the United States seems well positioned to host the 2026 World Cup with numerous stadiums already in place. Plus, the consensus is that it’s North America’s turn to host the event again. Countries in the European and Asian soccer federations are forbidden from bidding on the 2026 World Cup because they will have hosted the two previous tournaments, and the event was last held in North America in 1994.
“I think any one of the countries could probably put on a good show on their own,” Victor Montagliani, president of the North American soccer federation, said of the United States, Mexico and Canada in January. “But I think there seems to be a prevailing thought that a confederation-type bid with multiple hosts is probably good for football.”
The idea of a shared major soccer tournament hardly is new, either. Japan and South Korea co-hosted what was regarded as a successful World Cup in 2002, and the European Championship has been shared by multiple countries three times in the past. It will be held in 13 cities in 13 countries in 2020.
“It’s a good idea, and Europe has of course previously worked in this way on the European Championships,” Swedish FA chair Karl-Erik Nilsson told Reuters. “We are used to it and it works well, it makes it possible for more countries to arrange [tournaments], and in that way it is positive.”
The host or, more likely, hosts of the 2026 World Cup will be announced in 2020. It will be the first World Cup with 48 teams after FIFA voted to expand the tournament from 32 last month.
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So let's see. 3 automatic spots for the hosts. And 4 - 4.5 spots between uncaf and cfu. My guess 2 for uncaf. 2 - 2.5 for cfu
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So let's see. 3 automatic spots for the hosts. And 4 - 4.5 spots between uncaf and cfu. My guess 2 for uncaf. 2 - 2.5 for cfu
More like 3 uncaf and 1.5 cfu
No way they giving CFU so many spots.
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U.S. travel ban won't harm 2026 World Cup bid - CONCACAF president.
BY JEFF CARLISLE
MILLBRAE, Calif. -- CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani said that the immigration and travel policies specified by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are something that the confederation will "just have to work through" as it relates to the U.S. bidding to host the 2026 World Cup.
The Trump Administration released a revised executive order on Monday, one that bars new visas from six Muslim majority countries, and temporarily shuts down the U.S. refugee program.
FIFA is preparing the rules for bidding on the 2026 World Cup, and will determine the host in 2020. The U.S. Soccer Federation has yet to formally declare its intentions, but it's widely expected to be a candidate to host the tournament, either as part of a joint bid with other CONCACAF countries, or on its own.
As for the U.S. government's recent change in immigration policy, Montagliani said he wasn't concerned.
"I don't think you can worry about those kind of things in the context of [2026]," said Montagliani in an exclusive interview with ESPN FC. "Leaders will come and go, policies will come and go. And to be quite frank, every country has immigration policies, and every country has the right to have those immigration policies.
"When an event is put on in any country in the world, whether it's an Olympic Games or a World Cup, those are things that you need to be taking into consideration when you have a whole bunch of people coming.
"The No. 1 priority is the teams obviously and the players. Then after that it's the fans and the safety of the fans. Those are things that you just have to work through and I think we'll be willing to work through them."
FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday said that a U.S. travel ban could affect the U.S.'s chances at the 2026 bid.
"Any team, including the supporters and officials ... who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. That is obvious," Infantino said.
A CONCACAF country hasn't hosted a World Cup since the U.S. did back in 1994. The U.S. is currently one of the few countries capable of hosting the tournament on its own, but FIFA is encouraging applications to co-host the tournament. That could pave the way for a joint bid involving the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and Montagliani feels there are some advantages to having three countries join forces.
"You could also make a case that by having three countries, especially the three countries we're speaking about in North America, it has some compelling storylines there," he said. "The football economics in North America is shared quite a bit. Mexico is pretty influential in the U.S.; the U.S. is pretty influential in Canada.
"We have three leagues that the U.S. and Canada shares. We have a women's league that we share together. So it's pretty intriguing possibilities, so I think it behooves us to look at that opportunity."
That said, Montagliani indicated he had no preference in terms of single or joint bids.
"I want it in CONCACAF at the end of the day. That's the preference," he said. "As a CONCACAF president, the more countries that are involved in it, the better off it is, so from that perspective absolutely. But at the end of the day it's important to get it here."
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U.S., Mexico and Canada officially launch bid to co-host 2026 World Cup
The United States, Mexico and Canada announced their intention to submit a joint bid to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday, with three-quarters of the games to be played in the U.S., including the final.
See: http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/story/3100808/usmexico-and-canada-officially-launch-bid-to-co-host-2026-world-cup
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FIFA to give U.S. World Cup hosting rivals three months to make bid
BY SAM BORDEN (ESPN)
MANAMA, Bahrain -- It may not have gone precisely the way the United States, Canada and Mexico wanted, but it still appears more than likely that the World Cup is coming to North America in 2026.
The high-powered FIFA Council -- the group of top executives that makes recommendations to the full 211-member FIFA Congress -- debated on Tuesday a proposal by the joint North American World Cup bid to streamline the bidding process, and rival bids will be given three more months to present alternatives until Aug. 11.
Some members of the council, according to sources, expressed concern that the exclusivity element of the proposal was unreasonable, particularly given the corruption scandals surrounding bids in the past. A closed-off process, it was argued, was simply poor optics as FIFA tries to repair its image. Other countries should be allowed to bid and the North Americans stepped back.
However, the council agreed to the U.S. bid's proposed fast-track timetable that would award the bid before the 2018 World Cup in Russia -- rather than 2020. And to Sunil Gulati, the president of U.S. Soccer and a FIFA Council member and the nominal leader of this joint bid, that was more than enough to feel like a win.
"This is a victory for us," Gulati said afterward. "We got what we wanted most. An open process is a good thing and we're very confident that our bid will be a high quality one."
Left unsaid by Gulati -- but known by most in the soccer world -- is that the North Americans' confidence is buoyed by their knowledge of the potential competition. Simply put, there aren't many possible opponents for the U.S.
With the 2018 tournament in Russia and the 2022 event in Qatar, FIFA's rules prohibit those confederations -- Europe and Asia -- from bidding for the 2026 event. That means only countries from Oceania, Africa and South America could be possible competitors for the North American bid -- and Oceania and South America have already endorsed the North American bid.
That leaves Africa. And while there have been rumblings that a country like Morocco could launch a bid (either alone or with neighboring countries), the accelerated timetable would make it very difficult for a country or region that doesn't have the plethora of FIFA-standard stadiums of the North Americans to get the necessary construction and infrastructure guarantees.
With 2026 set to be the first 48-team World Cup, the requirements for staging 80 games are even more demanding, making the North American bid even more attractive.
That is why Gulati and his colleagues from Canada and Mexico were not altogether upset on Tuesday night. Assuming the full Congress passes the proposal as recommended by the council, the North American bid will proceed as it planned -- setting up offices and staff, and securing the commitments to meet the technical specifications by next March.
Whether another bid is doing the same, the United States, Canada and Mexico fully expect to be confirmed as 2026 World Cup hosts next summer -- just as they pushed for all along.
The U.S. bid wanted FIFA to give them an exclusive window in which their bid would have time to meet a list of technical specification guarantees -- commitments from stadiums, government support for security and hotel availabilities, among many others -- before it could be considered.
If the U.S., Canada and Mexico could do that -- a task generally seen as a foregone conclusion in such well-developed countries - than the bid would be rubber-stamped before the 2018 World Cup in Russia kicks off.
One other 2026 World Cup item of note that came out of the Council meeting was how FIFA will handle automatic berths in the World Cup when there are multiple bidders.
Instead of guaranteeing that all three countries will receive places in the tournament, the language from FIFA said that automatic spots "would be decided by the FIFA Council" at some point in the future.
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Morocco challenges U.S. joint bid to host 2026 World Cup
AP
North America has a late challenge from North Africa in the contest to host the 2026 World Cup as Morocco announced it will also bid for the tournament on Friday.
Morocco's last-minute move, coming on FIFA's deadline day, takes on the joint bid between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Morocco formally launched its bid and sent relevant documents to FIFA, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation said in a brief two-sentence statement. It's the North African kingdom's fifth attempt at hosting the World Cup.
The United States, Canada, and Mexico launched their joint bid in April and hoped to be awarded the World Cup unchallenged, with no other bids seemingly on the horizon. But FIFA decided to keep the contest open, and Morocco made the deadline.
The 2026 World Cup is open to bids only from the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. Europe and Asia were ineligible because those continents will host the next two World Cups, in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar in 2022.
The US-Canada-Mexico and Morocco bids are the only two for 2026, FIFA confirmed, and the world body could decide on the 2026 host as early as June 13 next year at its congress in Moscow on the eve of Russia's World Cup.
If neither bid meets FIFA's requirements, the process could still be re-opened to other bidders ahead of a final decision in 2020, but that's unlikely to happen.
If successful, the U.S.-Canada-Mexico bid would return the World Cup to the United States for the first time since 1994, and would also make Mexico the first three-time host.
Morocco aims to host the tournament 16 years after South Africa staged the first ever African World Cup, but is considered an outsider against the joint might of the North American project.
Reinforcing the challenge of becoming only the second African nation to host a World Cup, and the first from North Africa, Morocco would also have to handle the largest World Cup ever in terms of teams.
Soccer's showpiece is set to be increased from 32 to 48 teams from 2026, putting added strain on infrastructure with more hotels and more training grounds needed, and more players and fans expected.
Morocco's bid may also be undermined by the fact that it backed out of its last major hosting duties, when it won the rights to but then declined to stage the 2015 African Cup of Nations at the last moment because of fears over the spread of the Ebola virus from West Africa.
That decision put Morocco in conflict with the Confederation of African Football, but CAF is now under new leadership and president Ahmad of Madagascar has been supportive of the idea of Morocco bidding for the World Cup.
CAF confirmed Morocco's bid on its website later Friday, and should Africa unite behind Morocco, it would give the country a significant amount of support. Africa has the second highest number of voting FIFA member countries behind Europe.
Morocco has failed in four previous World Cup bids; in 1994 -- when it lost to the U.S. -- 1998, 2006, and 2010 -- when it lost to South Africa.
The race for 2026 will be FIFA's first World Cup hosting contest since the world body's corruption scandal of 2015, and also the first since the bribery-tainted 2010 votes to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively.
Morocco has also come under scrutiny and is accused of bribery in two of its previous World Cup bids, the ones for the '98 and 2010 tournaments.
A U.S. Department of Justice indictment alleged Moroccan officials twice bribed now disgraced FIFA executives with $1 million to vote for the country in those ultimately unsuccessful bids. Morocco denied the allegations.
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I heard FIFA wants to extend to 40 teams by 2026 WC. Not sure if that is a good idea, because it would make the WC qualification period less competitive as more teams can now qualify for each region, which means there will be a decrease in desire around the world to follow WC qualification games and the level of competition among teams will be of less quality and lower standard of play. Also how does that work in South America? Now you will have a situation where 6 out of 10 teams would qualify?
The WC tournament itself in 2026 will also lose some significance with possibly more games and more injuries as players will be coming off long club seasons. I know we in CONCACAF will say it may be good for us because we may now have four automatic spots. But I'm sure the standard of the WC will take a hit with this new move. I say if it's not broke don't fix it
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Good point Sando.
People thought the same thing when they increased the WC from 24 to 32. It depends on which confederation gets more spots.
If Concacaf gets 3 automatic spots, I think 4 or 5 additional spots for Concacaf will be about right.
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2026 World Cup bid to consider 49 stadiums across U.S., Mexico, Canada
By Tom Marshall
Thirty-four cities in the United States, seven cities in Canada and three in Mexico are on the list of proposed locations to host games at the 2026 World Cup, the United Bid Committee announced on Tuesday.
The organizers will reach out to each of the cities on the list and those hoping to be selected will have until Sept. 5 to declare their interest.
Those cities will then have until early January 2018 to prepare their bid to become a World Cup host, if they make the initial shortlist, which is set to be announced in late September.
Between 20-25 venues are set to be included in the final bid to FIFA, with the committee anticipating that 12 or more locations will be official host cities, if the North American bid is successful.
The bid lists a total of 49 stadiums across 44 cities, with three venues in the Los Angeles area and two in Dallas, Montreal and Toronto. Stadiums of all 32 NFL teams are on the list except for the Buffalo Bills' New Era Field.
The official bid for the 2026 World Cup by the United States, Mexico and Canada will be delivered to FIFA by the March 16, 2018, deadline and will face competition from Morocco, which announced a last-minute bid last week.
If successful, the U.S.-Canada-Mexico bid would return the World Cup to the United States for the first time since 1994, and would also make Mexico the first three-time host.
The plan calls for the U.S. to host 60 of the 80 games, with 10 each in Mexico and Canada. The only Mexican cities included on the list are Guadalajara (Estadio Chivas), Mexico City (Estadio Azteca) and Monterrey (Estadio Rayados).
FIFA requires a capacity of 80,000 for the opener and final, making the only possible sites in the list for those games Dallas, Los Angeles and New Jersey, as well as the less likely Washington, Jacksonville and Green Bay. Lambeau Field has never even hosted a U.S. national team game before.
Estadio Azteca in Mexico City also remains a possibility for the opener, though every game from the quarterfinals on will be in the U.S.
United States City Stadium Capacity
Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium 75,000
Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium 71,008
Birmingham, Ala. Legion Field 71,594
Boston (Foxborough, Mass.) Gillette Stadium 66,829
Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America Stadium 75,525
Chicago Soldier Field 61,500
Cincinnati Paul Brown Stadium 65,515
Cleveland FirstEnergy Stadium 67,895
Dallas Cotton Bowl 92,100
Dallas (Arlington, Texas) AT&T Stadium 105,000
Denver Sports Authority Field 76,125
Detroit Ford Field 65,000
Green Bay, Wis. Lambeau Field 81,441
Houston NRG Stadium 72,200
Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium 70,000
Jacksonville, Fla. EverBank Field 82,000
Kansas City, Mo. Arrowhead Stadium 76,416
Las Vegas Raiders Stadium 72,000
Los Angeles Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 93,000
Los Angeles (Inglewood, Calif.) City of Champions Stadium 100,000
Los Angeles (Pasadena, Calif.) Rose Bowl 90,888
Miami Hard Rock Stadium 65,326
Minneapolis U.S. Bank Stadium 66,200
Nashville, Tenn. Nissan Stadium 69,143
New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome 76,468
New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, N.J.) MetLife Stadium 82,500
Orlando, Fla. Camping World Stadium 65,000
Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field 69,596
Phoenix (Glendale, Ariz.) University of Phoenix Stadium 73,000
Pittsburgh Heinz Field 68,400
Salt Lake City Rice-Eccles Stadium 45,807
San Antonio Alamodome 72,000
San Diego Qualcomm Stadium 71,500
San Francisco/San Jose (Santa Clara, Calif.) Levi's Stadium 75,000
Seattle CenturyLink Field 72,000
Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium 75,000
Washington (Landover, Md.) FedEx Field 82,000
Canada City Stadium Capacity
Calgary, Alberta McMahon Stadium 35,650
Edmonton, Alberta Commonwealth Stadium 56,302
Montreal Stade Olympique 61,004
Montreal Stade Saputo 20,801
Ottawa, Ontario TD Place Stadium 24,000
Regina, Saskatchewan Mosaic Stadium 30,048
Toronto Rogers Centre 53,506
Toronto BMO Field 30,000
Vancouver, British Columbia BC Place 54,500
Mexico City Stadium Capacity
Guadalajara, Jalisco Estadio Chivas 45,364
Mexico City Estadio Azteca 87,000
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Estadio Rayados 52,237
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So help meh out here anybody, if this goes through how the host auto qualification works when concacaf have only 3.5 spots?
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Any how you take it, 16 teams or 100 teams. Is still ketch arse for TT.
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United 2026. FIFA World Cup returns to our Region.
TTFA Media.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States. This Wednesday, 13 June, the 68th FIFA Congress convened in Moscow and designated the three countries as the hosts of football’s most prestigious tournament, which by then will be played with 48 teams.
The United Bid received 134 of 200 votes cast, or 67%. Morocco tallied 65 votes (33%), and one single member association voted not to choose either of the two bids.
The three countries will bring the tournament to North America for the first time since 1994. Voters were persuaded by promises of record crowds, record revenues and, perhaps crucially, a record $11 billion in profit for FIFA, world soccer’s governing body.
Trinidad and Tobago Football Association President David John-Williams, in a reaction to the announcement, stated, “It’s always good to see that the World Cup is in our Confederation.
“It is going to be an exciting World Cup played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.Obviously my concern is the fact that automatic places for these three countries could be a bit unfair unless properly discussed with other countries within the Confederation. That is something that needs to be addressed, needs to be talked about and needs to be ventilated properly,” John-Williams told TTFA Media.
The North American bid routed its only challenger after which members of the winning delegation leapt out of their seats to embrace one another and celebrate the end of a frenzied period of lobbying.
The 2026 tournament will be one of firsts. It will be the first time the World Cup is hosted by three countries, the first time it has a 48-team format, up from 32 teams, and it was the first time the vote was decided by FIFA’s entire membership. Most of the tournament will take place in the United States. Of the 80 matches, 10 will be in Canada, 10 in Mexico and 60 in the United States.
The last time the men’s World Cup was held in North America was when the United States hosted in 1994. It was held in Mexico in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted.
North American bid leaders have been on the road since April, visiting voting nations. The lobbying paid off as they rode to victory on a wave of support from the Americas, Europe and Asia, plus a few votes poached from Africa, whose regional soccer president, Ahmed Ahmed, issued a bombastic plea to his members on Tuesday, urging them to vote for Morocco as a symbol of African unity.
Three Spots for Concacaf?
Among the first questions for FIFA after the announcement was whether all three North American host countries would get automatic spots for the tournament, which is customary for the host nation. The answer was: not yet. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said discussions on the topic of automatic bids would take place in the coming weeks and months, and US Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro said earlier this week that he had not concerned himself with the issue yet. He noted, however, that Concacaf’s allotment of 6½ berths in the new 48-team tournament would be unaffected by the hosting decision.
Carlos Cordeiro, the president of U.S. Soccer, wiped away tears before making a short speech in which, with his voice trembling, he thanked FIFA’s membership for “the incredible privilege” of hosting sports’ most-watched event.
“It was a very emotional moment for everyone,” Cordeiro said later, recalling the devastation he felt in 2010 when the United States failed to secure the right to stage the 2022 World Cup, which ended up going to Qatar after a much-criticized voting process.
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Corneal: Caribbean at disadvantage to qualify.
By Alvin Corneal (Guardian).
Alvin Corneal, a former national player and coach, has welcomed the 2026 FIFA World Cup being held jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada, but he believes there could be major challenges for T&T and the Caribbean during the qualification process.
Yesterday at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, it was announced that the US bid received 134 of 200 votes cast, or 67 per cent, while Morocco tallied 65 votes (33 per cent) to effectively hand the new 48-team world cup to the Concacaf region. One member association voted not to choose either of the two bids.
Corneal, a FIFA analyst for many years said this new development would mean the remaining Caribbean and Concacaf countries will compete for just one spot which will be a tremendous disadvantage to T&T and other regional territories.
Corneal is suggesting that the FIFA should make two spots available for the Concacaf region which will give Caribbean teams a fighting chance of at least one. With Mexico, USA and Canada earning automatic entry into the world cup by virtue of being hosts, Concacaf big guns Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala or Panama could be well placed to take the lone qualifying berth.
Corneal also expressed concerns that visa issues with the United States in the past, may pose a major form of discomfort at the World Cup. “I know fans should be okay with entry into Mexico and Canada, but in the past there were major concerns for people gaining entry into the US because of visas,” Corneal told Guardian Media Sports.
The increase in the number of teams from 32 to 48 will make the staging of the 2026 world cup in three countries possible Corneal said, but he believes the possibility of serious challenges may exist due to the inexperience of the Concacaf teams in hosting world cups. Mexico staged the world cup twice in 1970 and 1986, while the US held its only world cup in 1994 which Brazil won.
David John-Williams, the T&T Football Association (TTFA) president, said it’s always good to see the World Cup in our Confederation.
According to the local football boss: “It is going to be an exciting World Cup played in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Obviously my concern is the fact that automatic places for these three countries could be a bit unfair unless properly discussed with other countries within the Confederation. That is something that needs to be addressed, needs to be talked about and needs to be ventilated properly.”
The three countries will bring the tournament to North America for the first time since 1994. Voters were persuaded by promises of record crowds, record revenues and, perhaps crucially, a record $11 billion in profit for FIFA, world football’s governing body.
The 2026 tournament will be the first time the World Cup is being hosted by three countries, and the first time it will comprise 48 teams. Most of the tournament will take place in the United States. Of the 80 matches, ten will be in Canada, ten in Mexico and 60 in the United States. - Walter Alibey (Guardian).
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TTFA worried over automatic spots.
By Jelani Beckles (Newsday).
US, Mexico, Canada to host 2026 World Cup but…
TT Football Association president David John-Williams is happy but not ready to dance following the news that the 2026 World Cup will be played in CONCACAF. At the FIFA Congress yesterday, it was announced that the joint bid by USA, Canada and Mexico won the rights for the 2026 showpiece, where 48 teams will feature for the first time. The CONCACAF region has been awarded six and a half spots. It has not been determined whether all three host countries will get automatic berths.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said it is not guaranteed that Canada, Mexico and USA will get guaranteed berths, as discussions need to take place in the coming weeks and months.
TTFA president David John-Williams joined Infantino in expressing his concern for the qualifying spots allocated for this region.
“It is going to be an exciting World Cup played in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Obviously my concern is the fact that automatic places for these three countries could be a bit unfair unless properly discussed with other countries within the confederation. That is something that needs to be addressed, needs to be talked about and needs to be ventilated properly,” John-Williams told TTFA media.
The US and Mexico are considered CONCACAF powerhouses but Canada have only played in a World Cup once and have struggled to even make the final round of qualifying.
Former TT World Cup footballer Anthony Wolfe has no problem, however, if Canada are given an automatic spot at the 2026 World Cup, saying TT must step up to the challenge and earn one of the next three and a half spots that may be available for the rest of the CONCACAF region.
“They lay it across the board that any country or nation hosting the World Cup will qualify automatically. Seeing that this never happen before – that three countries will be hosting the World Cup at the same time – I don’t see any problem in giving Canada a berth,” Wolfe said.
“I think the rest of the countries just have to fight up for the next three spots. Football is a battle...what is the joy of the game? Not everybody will be happy and not everyone can be happy in life at the same time.”
Wolfe added, “Canada, Mexico and USA will be joyful because they going through automatically, (but) the other nations have to fight up. This is football, football is a war.”
Wolfe’s 2006 World Cup teammate Cyd Gray also has no issues if Canada get a spot at the top football tournament, saying, “If the hosts normally get a spot, I think they (Canada) should be inside. If that is the rule, that’s the rule.”
Gray believes TT are in with a good chance of qualifying, but support must be given to the players. Gray said, “We must have belief in our team. No matter if it might be a difficult task (to qualify), you must have belief in our team. Once we do the right thing and support the players in the right way (we will qualify), because we have the talent here. Give them the top quality teams to play against, so they learn from their mistakes early so when it is time for qualification they could get it right.”
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Dictator just talking so, he will sell out as usual...
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Maradona: Mexico doesn't deserve 2026 World Cup; no passion in U.S., Canada.
Reuters
Argentina legend Diego Maradona says he does not like the decision to have Mexico, Canada and the United States host the 2026 World Cup, decrying the countries' lack of success and passion for the sport.
FIFA decided on Wednesday that the 2026 event, the first to have 48 teams participating, would be split between the three North American countries, with 60 games in the U.S. and 10 each in Canada and Mexico.
The decision will make Mexico the first country to host three times, but Maradona suggested the country's record in the World Cup was not good enough. El Tri has been eliminated in the round of 16 in six straight tournaments.
"I don't like it," Maradona told Telesur. "Mexico doesn't deserve it. The Mexicans come up against Brazil or Germany... and 'boom,' they're out."
Maradona, often considered one of the greatest football players in history, won the World Cup with Argentina in 1986 when the tournament was in Mexico.
The 57-year-old also took issue with Canada and the U.S., recalling a proposal ahead of the American-hosted 1994 World Cup from then-FIFA president Joao Havelange that would have split games into quarters to allow for more television commercials.
"There's no passion," Maradona said. "The Canadians may be good skiers, and the Americans wanted to have four periods of 25 [minutes] for the advertising."
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I dey!!!
:wavetowel: :wavetowel: :flamethrower: :flamethrower: :drool: :drool: :party: :party: :party: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
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Anybody know when Holland playing? Want to set meh PVR
Thanks
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Mexico and Canada would be both dotish not to demand automatic spots. Diego, Breds, Mexico has no passion? Please Breds! Changes will come to the game of football wether we like it or not. Names on the back of players shirt. Multiple game balls. Water breaks at extremely hot tournaments. All American contributions to the modern game. Them dreaded colored football boots is the friggin worst.
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Anybody know when Holland playing? Want to set meh PVR
Thanks
:shameonyou: :notlistening: :waiting:
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Yes.. hope Mexico manage to tell Maradona to learn to sit back and take compliments and shut de f up.
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"I don't like it," Maradona told Telesur. "Mexico doesn't deserve it. The Mexicans come up against Brazil or Germany... and 'boom,' they're out."
May want to revise thar statement.
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"I don't like it," Maradona told Telesur. "Mexico doesn't deserve it. The Mexicans come up against Brazil or Germany... and 'boom,' they're out."
May want to revise thar statement.
This view is not Maradona's exclusively. It is a view I've heard in Argentina repeatedly among common fans and football cognoscenti. Ironically, it doesn't stop their players from getting a paycheck in LigaMX.
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Mexico played a smart and discipline game a won. Congrats to them. They finally won a big one. But unlike we minnows of concacaf, mexico goes to almost every WC, and by now should have made at least a semi -final by now. So the win was long overdue.
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Mexico played a smart and discipline game a won. Congrats to them. They finally won a big one. But unlike we minnows of concacaf, mexico goes to almost every WC, and by now should have made at least a semi -final by now. So the win was long overdue.
Plenty team yuh could say that about, besides they play one game, have a long and difficult road, as does everyone. What about African teams ?
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Mexico played a smart and discipline game a won. Congrats to them. They finally won a big one. But unlike we minnows of concacaf, mexico goes to almost every WC, and by now should have made at least a semi -final by now. So the win was long overdue.
Plenty team yuh could say that about, besides they play one game, have a long and difficult road, as does everyone. What about African teams ?
True, the Africans have fallen flat so far. But Mexico has been to 15 WC finals. From the very first in 1934. With the exception of probably Egypt and Ethiopia, most or all the Africans were colonies. But that still don't overlook the disappointing results of the games involving the African teams so far. Morocco and Tunisia were unlucky not to come out with 1 point each. I thought the Tunisia were really good. They frustrated England, until Kane, in the right spot at the right time sank them.
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Yuh wake up prepared to play the match of yuh life and 3 minutes after taking the field yuh get a red card. Agony!
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Yuh wake up prepared to play the match of yuh life and 3 minutes after taking the field yuh get a red card. Agony!
Yuh wake up watching the 2018 world cup, and post yuh comment 8 years in the future. Agony! ;D
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:D
Yuh wake up prepared to play the match of yuh life and 3 minutes after taking the field yuh get a red card. Agony!
Yuh wake up watching the 2018 world cup, and post yuh comment 8 years in the future. Agony! ;D
:D
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Colombia 1 - Japon 1. A good game so far. Honestly, I don't think was a foul on Falcao. But the free kick was superb. Colombia, like they learned something from the 2006 Soca Warriors. :D
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Ah now see is palos (ably assisted by Deeks and maxg :devil:) who start de trend of posting two WCs into the future.
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;D
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So let's see. 3 automatic spots for the hosts. And 4 - 4.5 spots between uncaf and cfu. My guess 2 for uncaf. 2 - 2.5 for cfu
Seeing that three Concacaf teams will be hosting, don't expect more than three auto spots for Concacaf. that will bring you to six teams from Concacaf in 2026 WC
Anyway expect the quality of the WC to be lowered with all these extra teams from around the world having easier qualifying WC campaigns due to more automatic spots. Furthermore how does this work for South America? they will still have only ten teams in their qualifying region, so with extra spots expect their qualifying rounds to be even less competitive
.
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Eve: Qualification won't be easy for 2026 48-team World Cup
By Joel Bailey (T&T Newsday)
TRINIDAD AND Tobago men’s football team coach Angus Eve is setting his sights on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be staged in three countries – United States, Canada and Mexico.
But Eve, the former T&T captain and midfielder, says that the qualification process would not be easy, and it will require a collective effort for that dream to become a reality. Eve, who has been at the helm since June 2021, said on Tuesday, “We’ve (the technical staff) started the plans but, unfortunately, because of the politics off the field, it really affects what we are able to do on the pitch. We haven’t been playing consistently in the (FIFA match) windows.
“It is not easy for us to qualify for the World Cup, but we plan to revamp the team, to bring in (and expose) younger players, to give them the experience that they would need, so the next time the World Cup qualifying comes around in two years’ time, that they are ready,” he continued. “We have all of those plans, me and the staff, and we have proposed it to the normalisation committee already. It’s just to execute on it, which would take a lot of finances to do so.”
Has he identified the group of players who he will use to form the core for the 2026 campaign or is he looking at the overseas-born players to add to the pool?
Eve replied, “Yes (with the overseas-born players) but we’re having challenges in that regard. We also have the cadre of players who (are) already playing and there is a very good mix there of young and senior players, in that group that we already have training and playing games before.”
Concerning the step-by-step plans from now till 2026, inclusive of the Concacaf Nations League and friendly internationals, Eve said, “The FIFA windows are very clear for (international) teams. (For) the local players, we need to have a league going on here, so they can put themselves up for selection. It’s very difficult when players are not playing active football, to select them for a team.
“I thought we got away with it, to some degree, in the (2021 Concacaf) Gold Cup but you’re not going to get away with that all the time,” he added. “The foreign-based players, they would be playing with their clubs. We’ll continue to monitor those players, where we can look at the stats and all the other technological parts of it. Collectively that’s what we do. “(In) the international windows, we need to play, to bring the team together so we can have a unit playing (as) a cohesive group. Also, we need to have the buy-in from the Government, from the public, the private sector and corporate sector.”
With a 48-team tournament in 2026, is he planning from now or is he waiting until the official draw is made to make concrete plans? Eve responded, “That’s two different things. We still have to prepare for qualification and the basic preparation starts now because World Cup qualifying is in a year and (a bit) because this World Cup played late.
“At the end of the day, we need to be in the Gold Cup. All these stepping-stones take you to where you need to be. We need to qualify for the Gold Cup, that is our immediate goal, so that we can then be in the A league in Concacaf, which will give us better opposition when we are playing, so that we can really test ourselves. That leads to (a) better World Cup qualifying draw for us.”
Much of the build-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar focussed on off-field issues, including the awarding of the tournament to the Asian nation, as well as Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and human rights record.
However, Eve pointed out, “If you listened to the people on the ground, they would tell you that the World Cup was fantastic. Even people that were told that it was controversial, from the standpoint of the allocation of the World Cup to the country, it has proven certain members of FIFA right.
“It’s one of the best World Cups that we’ve ever seen, from an organisational standpoint and, also, from a playing standpoint. I thought the World Cup was a huge success in Qatar.”
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The nightmare and illusionary dreaming has begun. I think it is time we face reality and take note that 2006 was an anomaly and that given the work behind the scenes of a certain special advisor we experienced a momentary feat of glory. The appearance at a World Cup.
Since then, we have seen the futility and demise of a standard of football and national team which at one point did offer us a 'Cinderella' fairy tale hope that a nation of our size could be perpetually on the World stage. In my opinion wee ought to stop and debunk this myth - face reality that we lack resources- skilled players, and a football infrastructure that come ' hell or continuous flooding' would not get us to even the upper echelon of football in teh Caribbean given the current path we are on.
I am not even convinced that many or any Caribbean nation could surpass the top teams in CONCACAF- to that point once more, I think like our Cricket, we ought to consider a West Indies combined team- combining the best talents within the region to explore the remote possibility of creating a formidable team that may contest and have a competitive chance within CONCACAF to represent WI football.
If (and I don't see any reason to think differently), we continue gearing up for WC qualifying with idealistic notions while dabbling in mediocrity, the results will once more be four years of painful agonizing hopes fluttering like feathers in the wind.
World Cup 26 for us will be like building a spaceship in Trinidad and launching us to the furthest regions of space into an abyss filled with phantasmal lies, deceits, bobol, commess and scandals. All orchestrated by the machinery who simply keeps designing systems to keep countries afloat and some marred in mud.
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The nightmare and illusionary dreaming has begun. I think it is time we face reality and take note that 2006 was an anomaly and that given the work behind the scenes of a certain special advisor we experienced a momentary feat of glory. The appearance at a World Cup.
Since then, we have seen the futility and demise of a standard of football and national team which at one point did offer us a 'Cinderella' fairy tale hope that a nation of our size could be perpetually on the World stage. In my opinion wee ought to stop and debunk this myth - face reality that we lack resources- skilled players, and a football infrastructure that come ' hell or continuous flooding' would not get us to even the upper echelon of football in teh Caribbean given the current path we are on.
I am not even convinced that many or any Caribbean nation could surpass the top teams in CONCACAF- to that point once more, I think like our Cricket, we ought to consider a West Indies combined team- combining the best talents within the region to explore the remote possibility of creating a formidable team that may contest and have a competitive chance within CONCACAF to represent WI football.
If (and I don't see any reason to think differently), we continue gearing up for WC qualifying with idealistic notions while dabbling in mediocrity, the results will once more be four years of painful agonizing hopes fluttering like feathers in the wind.
World Cup 26 for us will be like building a spaceship in Trinidad and launching us to the furthest regions of space into an abyss filled with phantasmal lies, deceits, bobol, commess and scandals. All orchestrated by the machinery who simply keeps designing systems to keep countries afloat and some marred in mud.
As far as the collective WI team goes...when the major Caribbean teams could do like Morocco, Cameroon, and Senegal and -- potentially? -- have a team filled with foreign born players, I think that whole WI team thing is a non-starter, at least IMO.
Now about the other things you talked about, well you might be onto something/s...I continue to hope and pray for deliverance yes :)
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Seeing MLS-based GK Marzaq Puckerin is in Trini.
Has he been approached to join the seniors?
Only 20 so def. One to get in the mix now
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Seeing MLS-based GK Marzaq Puckerin is in Trini.
Has he been approached to join the seniors?
Only 20 so def. One to get in the mix now
Currently unattached and was only a sub GK with his former club .
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Eve: Qualification won't be easy for 2026 48-team World Cup
By Joel Bailey (T&T Newsday)
Has he identified the group of players who he will use to form the core for the 2026 campaign or is he looking at the overseas-born players to add to the pool?
Eve replied, “Yes (with the overseas-born players) but we’re having challenges in that regard. We also have the cadre of players who (are) already playing and there is a very good mix there of young and senior players, in that group that we already have training and playing games before.”
This is bad . How are these players approached ? Is it via their agents or clubs ... Does the TTFA have representatives in the UK ?
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What did ed it tell you when three years prior the coach already bawling how hard it go be to make it - Fire the coach bring in a Japanese or Brazilian
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What did ed it tell you when three years prior the coach already bawling how hard it go be to make it - Fire the coach bring in a Japanese or Brazilian
exactly. Our coach is a clown
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Eve eyes 2026...Wants playing time for ‘nice bunch’
By Garth Wattley (T&T Express)
As he prepares a squad for March’s two Nations League matches, national senior football team coach Angus Eve is keeping his eyes on 2026 World Cup qualification and is keen to give his young players more exposure.
“This is a rebuilding stage,” Eve told the media at a training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Wednesday. “If you look at the group here, it’s a very young group of players with a couple of senior players sprinkled in there because that is where we are...We are building to 2026.
And so far, Eve is satisfied with what he is seeing from some of the youngsters.
“We had Nathaniel James who did fantastic for us in the Under-20s, Real Gill who did tremendous for us there also, so we have some nice young players who coming through. Unfortunately Nathaniel left last night (Tuesday) to go to a trial, but he was doing really, really well and I was hoping that he could have been in the squad....We have a nice young bunch of players that we think...given the right experiences, that come 2026 could contribute.”
And making reference also to Secondary Schools Football League 2022 standouts like Taryk Lee, Lindell Sween, Jaheim Faustin and Christian Bailey, Eve said this group needed to play more games.
Speaking of his own experience playing teams in Brazil as part of a T&T camp, he said: “We need to expose them. This is how you will build that experience. You can’t just play here or train here. The College League is not good enough to...develop players for a national team.”
The next FIFA World Cup will be held in the CONCACAF region in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is expected to be an expanded 48-team tournament.
However, asked if the availability of more qualifying spots will make T&T likely qualifiers, Eve urged caution.
Stressing that local laws don’t allow the country to recruit players with T&T parentage as easily as other nations, Eve said: “To say that we are a shoo-in, it’s going to be a bigger job than that. Football, sport on the whole is not (about) the name of the team anymore.”
And quoting a statement made by Moroccan team officials during the Qatar World, Eve added: “They said that when other people were studying corruption and boardroom stuff, they were studying stuff on the field. That’s where we have to get back to.”
Concerning his side’s next couple assignments in the Nations League though, Eve attached equal importance to both the matches against the Bahamas on March 24 and Nicaragua on March 27.
“Bahamas are the ones who put us out of the World Cup, and the first game that you have is always the toughest game, and it’s away from home,” Eve noted. “They are a very plucky bunch, a very dogged bunch and they have a lot of pride, country pride; you saw that when we played them in the World Cup (qualifiers); so at the end of the day, each of the games are important. You need to win the first one so that the second one could be even more relevant.”
However, the T&T coach also noted that, “it won’t be the be-all and end-all,” if T&T didn’t beat the Bahamas and Nicaragua. “We still have another opportunity to qualify for the Gold Cup.”
He admitted however that, “there are a lot of things against us from trying to get to that spot but we are trying our damnedest best to get us there.”
One obstacle is the lack of playing opportunities for the locally-based players due to the absence of national league competitions. Eve is hoping that the weekly training session will help those players get a level of match fitness. He is also hoping to play friendly matches in the next FIFA window in March.
“It’s similar to what we did (last year) when we went to the Gold Cup, where we had the locally-based guys train and then in the window we then bring in the foreign-based guys to complement that.”
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Re: 2026 World Cup Thread
« Reply #71 on: Yesterday at 09:43:00 AM »
Eve eyes 2026...Wants playing time for ‘nice bunch’
By Garth Wattley (T&T Express)
As he prepares a squad for March’s two Nations League matches, national senior football team coach Angus Eve is keeping his eyes on 2026 World Cup qualification and is keen to give his young players more exposure.
“This is a rebuilding stage,” Eve told the media at a training session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Wednesday. “If you look at the group here, it’s a very young group of players with a couple of senior players sprinkled in there because that is where we are...We are building to 2026.
When the arse we go stop rebuilding and work with a built team- We were rebuilding for years ago for Qatar!!! now we have four more years to rebuilt!!!! what the fack we rebuilding from to what are we rebuilding to?
To take some quotes from the commission of inquiry- we either sucking or blowing - either way we go create a delta P and just suck the faking life out of TNT football. Some have to have a definitive plan- a definitive strategy- and definitive competency to get this done. There is alack of belief from players all the a=way down. We need a faking Beenhakker who could take what we have and make it look like France.
Even cyar transform the players we have to compete on a world stage- never mind not even on a Caribbean stage- I guarantee when we start talking about the Bahamas as a threat we might as well challenge India for fete match.
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big Q is will messi be there? i remember when maradona played in USA for 94 world cup, was funny but he scored
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big Q is will messi be there? i remember when maradona played in USA for 94 world cup, was funny but he scored
He got sent home. He tested positive for some drug.
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Suriname coming for 2026 might prove an interesting hurdle to jump given d constraints
https://www.youtube.com/v/VLRRhsLbYzs?
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FIFA World Cup 2026™: Register for your interest in tickets (https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/register-interest)
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Leh we organize ah Socawwarriors lime in Vancouver Canada? The last time I was part of one was back in LA for Gold Cup
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CONCACAF to start 2026 World Cup qualifying in March 2024
T&T Guardian Reports.
AP - The United States, Mexico and Canada receive automatic berths as co-hosts of the World Cup, to be played in June and July 2026. The number of possible matches was reduced from the 20 Canada played to reach last year’s tournament in Qatar.
The Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football said yesterday that qualifying will start with a first round in March 2024 involving the four lowest teams in the FIFA rankings as of November 2023, who will play a home-and-home series in which the highest-ranked team meets the lowest-ranked.
If current rankings were used, No. 206 Turks and Caicos Islands would play No. 210 Anguilla, and No. 208 US Virgin Islands would play No. 209 British Virgin Islands.
CONCACAF’s remaining 28 teams in qualifying will join in a second round to be played in June 2024 and June 2025. There will be six groups of five teams in a single round-robin, with each nation hosting two matches.
Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, El Salvador and Honduras appear likely to be the highest-ranked teams in qualifying.
First- and second-place teams in each group advance to a 12-nation final round that includes three groups of four teams. A double round-robin will be played in autumn 2025, and each group winner will qualify for the first 48-nation World Cup.
CONCACAF also said the four quarterfinal winners from CONCACAF Nations League A this November will qualify for next year’s Copa América, the South American championship that was moved from Ecuador to the United States. The four quarterfinal losers will participate in a Copa América play-in in March 2024, to be held at a central site, and the two winners also will qualify for the 16-nation tournament, which includes 10 teams from South America.
Nations League A will be expanded to 16 teams from 12 for the 2023-24 tournament. The group stage will be played this September, October and November, with a new quarterfinal round added in a home-and-home format in November.
The 12 lowest-ranked teams will be in a pair of six-team groups that has each team play four games, and the top two nations in each group will advance to the quarterfinals along with the four highest-ranked teams as of March 2023, who have automatic berths. The highest-ranked teams are likely to be the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada.
Quarterfinal winners advance to the final round, to be played in March 2024.
League B will remain four groups of four and League C three groups of three. There will be promotion of the four League B group winners from the 2022-23 Nations League but no relegation, and League C group winners will be promoted to Group B.
After the 2023-24 tournament, the fifth- and six-place teams in League A will be relegated, the four League B group winners will be promoted, the four League B last-place teams will be relegated and the three League C group winners will be promoted along with the top second-place nation. (AP)
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Trinidad and Tobago drawn into Group B of Concacaf World Cup qualifying
By Jonathan Ramnanansingh (T&T Newsday)
Trinidad and Tobago have been drawn into Group B of the second round of Concacaf qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Angus Eve-coached unit vie for a precious FIFA World Cup spot alongside Costa Rica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Bahamas.
This was confirmed at the draw on Thursday which took place at FIFA’s headquarter’s in Zurich, Switzerland.
A statement by Concacaf said the second round of Concacaf Qualifiers will not include Canada, Mexico, and the US since they are hosts of the prestigious quadrennial tourney.
The second round, however, will feature Concacaf’s other 32 FIFA affiliated member associations, with 30 teams making up the second round of qualifying, following the results of the first round.
The first round kicks off in March between the four lowest-ranked Concacaf member associations based on the FIFA men’s rankings as of December 2023.
The two-legged matchups feature British Virgins Islands against US Virgin Islands in playoff one and Turks and Caicos Islands versus Anguilla in the second.
The winner of each tie will be placed in Group E and F respectively.
These two additions will complete the six Concacaf World Cup Qualifying groups. Here, teams will play single round-robin matches (two home and two away), with the six group winners and six group runners-up advancing to the third round (12 teams total).
The second round will be played over the course of two match-days in June and then another two match-days in June 2025.
Commenting on Trinidad and Tobago’s chances of advancing, Eve believes each nation poses a “tricky” test despite their competitive history.
“We know a lot of the opposition that we’ll be meeting in this particular group. Two (Bahamas, St Kitts and Nevis) of the teams actually in the qualifying of the World Cup last time, (but) we didn’t come out of that group. So we have a fair idea of the opposition.”
He said Grenada is “a little bit known to us” but deemed them unpredictable under new English coach Terry Connor, in addition to, their European-based talents.
“And then Costa Rica is a perennial powerhouse in Concacaf. They’ve been in the last World Cup and have good quality players. So we know the combination of the group and it wouldn’t be easy for us to come out but we’re going to do our best to try to come out,” he added.
When asked his thoughts on Trinidad and Tobago advancing to the final round of 12 Concacaf nations, where potentially five Concacaf teams, in addition to the three hosts, can qualify for the World Cup, Eve said they must capitalise on this rare chance to seal the nation’s second FIFA World Cup berth.
“This opportunity we have will probably never happen again so we have to grasp it with both hands. I see some of the players are already calling after seeing the draw, and they’re excited about it. We’re seeing the possibility of what could potentially happen to us and what we camp potentially do.”
Before the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers begin in June for Trinidad and Tobago, the senior team get their international campaign underway against Canada on March 23 in a single-match playoff, where the winner advances to this year’s Copa America.
Eve said while World Cup qualification remains top priority, a Copa America debut serves as a welcome boost ahead.
On his and the team’s mindset over the coming months of football, he told TTFA media, “We’re preparing for the both things because we’re trying to prepare for one and then World Cup qualifying, which is paramount for us.
“Everything we’ve been doing up to today has been about qualification for World Cup 2026. So the Copa America is just a bonus for us really.
“We wanted to stay in the A (Nations League top flight) and give ourselves the best chance by being in a good group that we could possibly have the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.”
Thursday’s Draw for the Second Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying:
Group A: Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands
Group B: Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Bahamas
Group C: Haiti, Curaçao, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Aruba
Group D: Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat, Belize
Group E: Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Winner Playoff 2 (British Virgin Islands-US Virgin Islands)
Group F: El Salvador, Suriname, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Winner Playoff 1 (Turks and Caicos Islands-Anguilla)
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Eve pleased with players' fitness, sharpness ahead of crucial 2024 fixtures
By Jonathan Ramnanansingh (T&T Newsday)
Trinidad and Tobago men’s football team is in a “better place,” according to Trinidad and Tobago coach Angus Eve, who is preparing the team for the 2024 international campaign.
In a TTFA media release on January 25, Eve spoke of the team’s plans ahead of the crucial Copa America qualifying play-in against Canada on March 23, followed by Concacaf World Cup qualification.
Trinidad and Tobago face off against Canada in Texas with the winner advancing to Group A of this year’s Copa America alongside Argentina, Peru and Chile.
It was also confirmed on Thursday at the World Cup qualification draw in Zurich, Switzerland, that Trinidad and Tobago will be grouped alongside Costa Rica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Bahamas for their 2026 Concacaf World Cup qualification. These nations make up Group B.
Looking ahead to the upcoming international fixtures, Eve is quietly confident his player pool will receive an additional boost ahead of both competitions.
This, he said, is mainly owing to the T&T Premier Football League in full swing and ongoing pre-season football for his foreign-based charges in North America.
Eve said a meeting was held with team staff on Thursday to chart a way forward for the upcoming season.
“We had a strategy meeting where we planned our way forward. We have been speaking individually with everybody in their individual roles. This is what the collective meeting (was about), to bring back in all the data and plan the way going forward.”
Eve spoke highly of the T&T Premier Football League’s tier one and tier two competitions, which he thinks have helped improve his talent pool after the opening season, which concluded in November.
On the league’s impact, he said, “It has been tremendous and refreshing for us because every (national training) camp that we would have gone in previously the locally based players weren’t playing (regularly), and we had to do a lot of work to bring (them) up to match fitness.
“Now they are playing, the league is going well. I think it’s very competitive so we can see that the players are playing much sharper. I thought that this (second) season the boys would be playing a lot faster, and they are. So it’s good for us and we want to bring them in.”
And with the likes of surging young talents such as Toronto FC’s recently acquired Tyrese Spicer and Colorado Rapids’ Wayne Frederick II now among the potentials for a national call-up, Eve embraces these options.
Spicer stood out recently after he became the Major League Soccer (MLS) draft’s top pick via Toronto FC while Frederick II was drafted second.
Both North America-based players are in pre-season training, alongside several other T&T nationals there, and in other leagues around the world.
He added, “We have some new boys who will get the opportunity to come in the camp and work with us in that environment. We have seen a lot of nice young players coming through the league.
"The players in Canada, the players in the US are already in pre-season with their clubs so they will get a lot of pre-season matches under their belt. It’s a lot more game time and also that we have the few players in Europe, they are still in action and playing.”
For the local-based unit, Eve said a mini-camp will be held from February 8 to get them in the groove for possible selection. He closed, “I think we’re in a better place going into this round of matches because soon after, we’ll have the World Cup campaign to start.”
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Group A
Honduras will get first spot.
Cuba, Antigua and Bermuda fighting for 2nd place
Group B
TT winning the group
Costa Rica 2nd spot
Group C
Haiti and Curacao
St Lucia has improved a lot. They got 2 or 3 EPL players. More than us. They will take points from Haiti or Curacao.
Group D
Panama taking that easy
Nicaragua and Guyana fighting for the 2nd spot. Belize and Montserrat will determine if it's Nica or Guya.
Group E
Jamaica and Guatemala taking that
Group F
El Salvador, Suriname. But I not ruling out Puerto Rico to make it difficult for ES or Sur.
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T&T to face Grenada June 5 in World Cup qualifiers opener.
By Nigel Simon (T&T Guardian).
T&T "Soca Warriors" will open their Group B Concacaf World Cup Second Round of qualifiers at home to neighbour Grenada on June 5 before travelling to the Bahamas three days later for their second match in the five-team round-robin series towards the FIFA World Cup 2026 jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The Soca Warriors under the supervision of 51-year-old coach Angus Eve, T&T’s most capped player with 117 national senior team appearances, will then complete their four-match schedule in 2025 with a home encounter against St Kitts & Nevis on June 6, followed by an away outing to group favourite Costa Rica.
This was determined on Monday when Concacaf announced the schedule for the First and Second Round matches of the Concacaf qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 which will consist of three separate rounds and will include 32 FIFA-affiliated Concacaf Member Associations.
Commenting on the schedule Eve was quick to note that Concacaf qualification is no longer a given to the so-called big teams as the smaller nations all have the opportunity to bring in high-quality players who are born in foreign countries, but have first or second-generation attachments to the country via their parents or grandparents.
He said, "These situations have even up the playing field somewhat with teams like Bahamas having players from the USA, while St Kitts & Nevis, and Grenada having the luxury of English-born players."
Looking ahead to the qualifiers, Eve added, "It's not as easy as everyone thinks it will be. We want to qualify for the next World Cup for certain and we will need the financial support of corporate T&T as well, and we also want to have the chance to get more players involved, so some adjustments to our immigrations law to allow us, to get more overseas-born players involved is also welcomed."
In the First Round, which will take place in March, the four lowest-ranked Concacaf member associations (based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking as of December 21, 2023) will see Anguilla host Turks & Caicos Islands in Playoff I, and US Virgin Islands entertain British Virgin Islands in Playoff II on March 22 in the first-leg matches with the return-leg matches set for March 26 from which the aggregate score winner in each playoff will progress to the Second Round.
For the Second Round, the winners of Playoff I will join the Second Round Group E, where Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Dominica await, while the Playoff II winners will enter the Second Round Group F with El Salvador, Suriname, Puerto Rico, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The other Second Round qualifiers are in Group A, Honduras, Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba, Bermuda, and Cayman Islands, in Group C Haiti, Curacao, St Lucia, Barbados, Aruba), and in Group D, Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat, Belize.
At the end of the Second Round of Concacaf qualifiers in June 2025, the group winners and runners-up (12 teams in total) will progress to the final round.
For the Concacaf Final qualifiers, which take place in September, October, and November 2025 among the 12 member associations (six match dates), a separate draw will be conducted for the Final Round following the conclusion of the Second Round.
The 12 teams will be divided into three groups of four teams with each team playing every other team in their group at home and away, for a total of six matches (three at home and three away), at the end of which, the three group winners will qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026, joining hosts Canada, Mexico, and the USA.
Additionally, the two best runners-up will represent Concacaf in the FIFA playoff tournament, which in total could provide the Concacaf region with up to eight teams at the FIFA World Cup for the first time.
First Round qualifiers: (home team listed first):
March 22
Anguilla vs Turks and Caicos Islands
US Virgin Islands vs British Virgin Islands
March 26
Turks and Caicos Islands vs Anguilla
British Virgin Islands vs US Virgin Islands
Second Round: 30 Member Associations (four-match dates in June 2024 and June 2025)
Group A: Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands
Group B: Costa Rica, T&T, St Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, Bahamas
Group C: Haiti, Curaçao, St. Lucia, Barbados, Aruba
Group D: Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat, Belize
Group E: Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Winner Play-off 2
Group F: El Salvador, Suriname, Puerto Rico, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Winner Play-off 1
Second Round schedule (home team listed first):
June 5
(A) Antigua and Barbuda vs Bermuda
(B) T&T vs Grenada
(C) Curaçao vs Barbados
(D) Nicaragua vs Montserrat
(E) Guatemala vs Dominica
(F) Suriname vs St Vincent and the Grenadines
June 6
(A) Honduras vs Cuba
(B) Costa Rica vs St Kitts & Nevis
(C) Haiti vs St Lucia
(D) Panama vs Guyana
(E) Jamaica vs Dominican Republic
(F) El Salvador vs Puerto Rico
June 8
(A) Cayman Islands vs Antigua and Barbuda
(B) Bahamas vs T&T
(C) Aruba vs Curaçao
(D) Belize vs Nicaragua
(E) Winner Play-off 2 vs Guatemala
(F) Winner Play-off 1 vs Suriname
June 9
(A) Bermuda vs Honduras
(B) Grenada vs Costa Rica
(C) Barbados vs Haiti
(D) Montserrat vs Panama
(E) Dominica vs Jamaica
(F) St Vincent and the Grenadines vs El Salvador
June 11
(A) Cuba vs Cayman Islands
(B) St Kitts & Nevis vs Bahamas
(C) St Lucia vs Aruba
(D) Guyana vs Belize
(E) Dominican Republic vs Winner Play-off 2
(F) Puerto Rico vs Winner Play-off 1
June 4
(A) Bermuda vs Cayman Islands
(B) Grenada vs Bahamas
(C) Barbados vs Aruba
(D) Montserrat vs Belize
(E) Dominica vs Winner Play-off 2
(F) St Vincent and the Grenadines vs Winner Play-off 1
June 6
(A) Antigua and Barbuda vs Cuba
(B) T&T vs St Kitts & Nevis
(C) Curaçao vs St Lucia
(D) Nicaragua vs Guyana
(E) Guatemala vs Dominican Republic
(F) Suriname vs Puerto Rico
June 7
(A) Cayman Islands vs Honduras
(B) Bahamas vs Costa Rica
(C) Aruba vs Haiti
(D) Belize vs Panama
(E) Winner Play-off 2 vs Jamaica
(F) Winner Play-off 1 vs El Salvador
June 10
(A) Cuba vs Bermuda
(A) Honduras vs Antigua and Barbuda
(B) St Kitts & Nevis vs Grenada
(B) Costa Rica vs T&T
(C) St Lucia vs Barbados
(C) Haiti vs Curaçao
(D) Guyana vs Montserrat
(D) Panama vs Nicaragua
(E) Dominican Republic vs Dominica
(E) Jamaica vs Guatemala
(F) Puerto Rico vs St Vincent and the Grenadines
(F) El Salvador vs Suriname
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FIFA unveils scheduling framework for 2026 tournament.
T&T Guardian Reports.
MIAMI, Florida – MetLife Stadium in the American city of East Rutherford in the state of New Jersey, where the New York Giants and New York Jets play in the NFL, will stage the final of the next Fifa World Cup on Sunday, July 16, 2026.
World football’s governing body announced on Sunday the scheduling framework for the 104-match tournament featuring 48 teams across 16 cities in the three host countries of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
According to a statement on the Fifa website: “The iconic New York New Jersey venue was awarded the honour of hosting the showpiece fixture, which will bring the curtain down on the most inclusive FIFA tournament ever.
“While this stadium has been more used to hosting the superstars of the NFL down the years, the best that soccer has to offer will head to the ground come 2026 as a different sport takes centre stage.”
The stadium was opened 14 years ago and was the venue for the final of the 2016 Copa America Centenario, when Chile defeated Argentina on penalties.
Numerous A-list musical entertainers have featured at the stadium, including Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and Taylor Swift.
Fifa also announced that the Azteca Stadium in Mexico has been confirmed as the venue for the opening match of the tournament on Thursday, June 11, 2026, becoming the first stadium to host three FIFA World Cup openers.
The first match in Canada, which has never hosted a World Cup match, will be on Friday, June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto, where the city’s Major League Soccer team plays, while the opening match in the United States will be on the same day at SoFi Stadium in the city of Los Angeles, the home of the NFL’s LA Rams.
Mexico will have the honour of getting the tournament started in their capital city, kicking off proceedings in the historic venue, which hosted the World Cup finals and opening matches of 1970 and 1986.
Mexico will play all three of their group fixtures on home soil, with Guadalajara Stadium hosting their second match on Thursday, June 18, before a return to the Azteca on Wednesday, June 24, for their final group match.
The Azteca currently hosts both Club America and Cruz Azul of Mexican League, as well as the Mexico national team, while clubs such as Pumas, Atlante, Atletico Espanyol, and Necaxa have all previously played there.
BMO Field has has previously hosted matches the Fifa U-17 World Cup, Fifa Under-20 World Cup, and Fifa Women’s U-20 World Cup, and it played host to the climax of Canada’s campaign to reach the 2022 World Cup, when their ticket to Qatar was secured with victory over Jamaica.
Canada too, will play all three of their group stage match on home soil, with BC Place in Vancouver hosting their second and third group fixtures on Thursday, June 18, and Wednesday, June 24.
SoFi Stadium is the newest of the venues chosen to host matches in the tournament, having opened in September 2020, and it is situated only a 30-minute drive from the iconic Rose Bowl in the city of Pasadena, which hosted the World Cup final of 1994.
The United States will also play all three of their group matches on home soil, with Lumen Field in the city of Seattle in the state of Washington, where the Seattle Sounders play their matches in the MLS, hosting the national team’s second fixture on Friday, June 19, before the Americans return to SoFi for their final group match on Thursday, June 25.
The tournament will shift entirely to the United States from the quarter-final round, which will be held in the cities of Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, and Boston.
Dallas and Atlanta will host the two semi-finals, Miami will be the site of the consolation final for third place, while Philadelphia will host a Round of 16 match on July 4 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the country.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games, including an additional knockout round due to the previously announced decision to expand to 48 teams from 32.
Qualification for the World Cup for Caribbean Football Union teams start on Friday, March 22, between the four lowest-ranked teams in Concacaf based on the Fifa world rankings on December 21 last year.
The four teams are, in ranking order, Turks & Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, and Anguilla.
The second round of qualification will feature the two winners of the first round and the confederation’s remaining 28 participating teams with matches taking place on two match days in June this year and June next year.
The final round of qualification will feature the group winners and runners-up from the second round for a total of 12 teams that will be divided into three groups of four.
Each team will play every other team in their group home and away, playing a total of six matches (three at home and three away).
These matches will be played during the Fifa international match windows of September, October, and November 2025, and the three group winners will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup joining the co-hosts.
Additionally, the two best runners-up will represent Concacaf in the Fifa play-off tournament, so that the confederation could have up to eight teams at a World Cup for the first time.
CMC
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Ah see this thread started since 2012. I'm starting my planning from all now....