Yes, I'm aware of that. For that reason Concacaf is becoming the weakest federation. They have small club mentality.
There are a lot of small countries in CONCACAF. Gold Cup is the biggest moneymaker for many of the small countries and that often depends on Mexico and the US as well as hosting the tournament in the US. Mexico and the US are limited to what they can do.
Yes. Let's face it. The Gold Cup is the biggest stage many Federations will ever be on. Teams like Belize and Dominica and Suriname will probably never qualify for a World Cup. So the Gold Cup is the next best thing . This is their "World Cup" every cycle. Something to strive for and something to look forward to as a an accomplishment team goal. It is good for being in the lime light and being in what they consider a major competition. It brings National pride for these teams.
Ok, I see, it would be imposible to eliminate Gold Cup by unifying Copa America. But at least Gold Cup should be played as a way of qualifying for Copa America, the best 6 teams in Gold Cup qualify for Copa America, and the real goal for those teams should be Copa America once they qualify. I don't know how this could be done but it is necessary. In CONMEBOL we are just 10 teams, adding the best 6 of CONCACAF really works and besides Mexico and USA could be real contenders if they improve. That would make Copa America in the same level of prestige as Euros. But no more invited teams, as I said, best 6 teams in the final table of Gold Cup should qualify directly.
So much for the big plans of a 16-team Copa in 2019: http://www.espn.com/soccer/copa-ame...te-2019-copa-america-no-north-american-squads 12 teams. Qatar and Japan as guests. Not even Mexico is participating. And with Japan playing the Asian Cup in January I wouldn't expect anything close to the A-team.
Wow no Mexico for the first time since the early 90s. That Qatar and Japanese television money must be really good enough for Brazil. Gold Cup wins again.
I think this is mostly CONCACAF putting their foot down towards any Gold Cup distractions. CONMEBOL look quite foolish now for announcing an expansion to 16 teams without getting CONCACAF’s explicit consent. As for the tv money coming from Qatar and Japan, I doubt it’s a significant bump. Qatar’s BeIn Sports probably already holds the 2019 Copa Rights for the MENA region. They pretty much hold all the rights here. CONMEBOL needed someone, anyone to accept their invitation without CONCACAF in the picture.
I wouldn't put it past Qatar to do some back room dealing with the CONMEBOL or Brazilian Federation though to soften the Mexico blow. I heard the Japanese television deal was one of the main reasons they invited Japan in 1999 so I would imagine it is better now compared to 20 prior.
Mexico used to be a great competitor in the Copa America, but since 2011 they brought inferior teams to the tournament. I'm sure it wasn't their fault completely, but it sent a message that they weren't taking the tournament seriously--and they, the mexican team, were starting to look like just an ordinary team. The 7-0 loss to Chile may have been the icing on the cake. The rescheduled Gold Cup kind of ruined it for Mexico. I figure the organizers, if all they were getting were "squash teams", thought they might as well take in as much money as possible from them and see them off after 3 games.
I know what you are saying. And it was not their fault completely as you alluded to. CONCACAF and UEFA Clubs also have something to do with it too. But my point of my post is that the Television money and sponsors is still huge even with the crappy teams they sent down there. It has nothing to do with anything you mentioned with all due respect.
Probably, but one thing to keep in mind is that 1999 was before the international calendar with its release conditions. That was likely Japan's A-team. This won't be - not even close. Since the 2016 Centenario we have surprisingly seen less convergence. No Mexican clubs in the Copa Libertadores for two seasons and now this. But I won't get my hopes up for "normalcy" in the Americas. Soon enough we will see the concept drawings for Centenario - Part Deux. CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez seems to be close to Infantino (only one to show up to the FIFA Bureau emergency meeting) - he will do his best to force this on the FIFA calendar.
I'm not saying one loss, or even a series of losses, is what made CONMEBOL drop Mexico from the Copa America. I'm saying their performance has dropped off in these tournaments, where they play south american teams, over the last several years. I still tend to think it's all about the money, and since Mexico is not finishing in the top 4 anymore, the organizers probably did not feel they HAD TO invite Mexico this time. If there is a better business deal to be made with Qatar and Japan, 2019 would be the best opportunity to explore it.
If they are that desperate and the invited teams don't offer much in terms of money, its a wonder why they don't just forget about inviting anyone and have the 10-team tournament that everyone wants.
I wonder if CONMEBOL got CONCACAF's approval to stage the single match Copa Libertadores final in a US city starting next year. Because you just know that's where that one is headed (Miami anyone?) Perhaps not the first year, but eventually.
We do? Why? Under the existing format we're talking about 2 guaranteed sell-outs. Club matches in a neutral venue can be risky. Its not like a NT match where everyone of a certain nationality will want to go. There have been some small clubs reach the Copa Libertadores final recently.
I believe CONMEBOL announced this change (single match final) not too long ago for 2019 onwards. And I fully agree with you.
A single final match is an awful idea even if they do manage to sell out whichever stadium in whatever country to whatever plastic fans they can get...
That's comparing apples to oranges. OFC does much more with a lot less. 11 island members, with tiny populations, amateur leagues, and the weakest support for soccer in the world. And they still manage to complete a Champions League with a group stage and rotate the OFC Nations Cup between countries, something CONCACAF can't even accomplish.
If you took away the top league in each, Mexico and New Zealand, wouldn't the next best 8 CONCACAF clubs be much better than the next best 8 OFC clubs? It's not like every country in CONCACAF has a professional league. The weak CONCACAF countries have low populations. AFC has Indonesia (4th most populated in the world), Pakistan (6th), Bangladesh (8th), Philippines (13th), Thailand (20th), Myanmar (26th), Afghanistan (39th), Malaysia (45th), Nepal (48th), and Yemen (50th) as ten countries who are Top 50 in population but not in the Top 100 of the FIFA Rankings. Even if you don't like the FIFA Rankings I think you can agree that those countries aren't great at soccer.
As expected, CONMEBOL have started their shenanigans for a 2020 Copa America. An official request has now gone to FIFA to change the Copa America timing on the calendar. Starting in 2020. The sensible thing would have been to just move Brazil 2019 back one year - especially since they had the Centenario in 2016. Up next, US hosting and CONCACAF inclusion.
And bypass the chance to cash in on one more extra tournament?! Clearly you don't have bills to pay... or houses to build...