ZURICH: FIFA hosted talks with football’s six continental governing bodies on Monday about a $25 billion offer to run two new proposed competitions which could reshape international football, seeking agreement before the World Cup kicks off in June.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has put forward ambitious plans for a revamped version of the Club World Cup and a new global Nations League competition and wants support for a 12-year deal from 2021 with a Japanese-led consortium.

“There is a sense of urgency to move forward and to make a decision,” Philippe Moggio, general secretary of the CONCACAF which organises football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, said after the two-hour meeting.

Still, consent from UEFA is the toughest part of the deal, which seems unlikely before an initial 60-day deadline from investors expires by mid-May.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Windsor John said FIFA plans for a working group to study the issues. That panel will include the CEO-like top officials from each of the six continents.

FIFA vice-president Alejandro Dominguez, head of South America’s CONMEBOL, was the only confederation president to attend Monday’s meeting which followed a rapid round of consultations in recent weeks with FIFA stakeholders, including leaders of Europe’s top clubs and leagues.

The plans were initially presented at the last FIFA Council meeting in Bogota in March.

Earlier this month, Infantino confirmed that investors had shown interest in backing an expanded Club World Cup but did not comment on the amount involved.

FIFA said in a subsequent statement that the meeting took place in a “friendly and positive environment” and that a working group had been created to “analyse further the relevance and feasibility of staging both competitions.”

FIFA’s plans for the Club World Cup would involve expanding it to 24 teams and staging it every four years instead of annually as happens at present.

An expanded Club World Cup, which would be played in June or July with 12 from Europe in a 24-team lineup, is a potential rival to the globally popular Champions League guaranteed by UEFA.

A FIFA briefing document on the project said clubs would share prize money totaling 75 percent of at least $3 billion revenue from each Club World Cup edition which would be guaranteed by the investment group.

Currently, the annual Club World Cup played in December features just one European team alongside the other continental champions and the host nation’s league winner. The 2017 edition in the United Arab Emirates earned $37 million revenue for FIFA.

The Nations League would be a global version of the new competitions which are being introduced by UEFA in Europe and CONCACAF in North and Central American and the Caribbean.

In both cases, the competitions involve all the national teams in the respective continents who are divided into divisions based on their rankings.

There is promotion and relegation between the divisions, as in conventional domestic leagues. Each division is sub-divided into groups with the winners qualifying for a knockout contest.

FIFA’s 37-member ruling council is needed to approve the two competitions, which figure to get broad support from clubs and national federations outside Europe.

“The concept is very interesting for all,” Moggio said of the global Nations League idea, which was developed by UEFA.

Earlier Monday, Dominguez said a council meeting could happen in Zurich ahead of the World Cup which kicks off on June 14 in Russia.

FIFA’s leaders will meet on June 10 in Moscow, where the main business will be the 2026 World Cup bidding contest. Three days later, FIFA member federations are set to choose between Morocco and the co-hosting candidacy of the United States, Canada and Mexico to stage the expanded 48-team tournament.

“There is a lot on the table,” Moggio acknowledged.

One subject not formally discussed on Monday: FIFA’s proposal last month, backed by CONMEBOL’S Dominguez, of fast-tracking the 48-team expansion to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2018