Would a CONCACAF-CONMEBOL merger be good for soccer?
Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros of The Cooligans discuss the potential of the North & Central American and South American federations combining and what it could mean for the countries involved and the global impact of the game. Check out the full conversation on the "The Cooligans" podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , or wherever you listen .
Video Transcript
But CONCACAF and CONMEBOL are talking about merging.
For the sake of the US Men's National Team, this would be a good idea, for just getting the, the US, Mexico, and Canada, there's other countries in CON- CONCACAF, but we're, we're, we're focusing on USMNT, to play against better teams, better competition, tougher.
We saw the final, the World Cup final between Spain and, and Argentina.
You saw the, the, the, it was psychopaths at the end- Mm-hmm after, after they lost.
But that kind of intensity and pressure, I think could, possibly make a real, you know, an opportunity for improvement for the US, and we're looking at top teams in CONCACAF and C- CONMEBOL, merger.
And, let's hope.
To run through it pretty quickly, though, it, it would mean combining these nations.
So think about all the international tournaments we would play against each other, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, United States, Uruguay, Ecuador, Canada, Paraguay, Panama, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, and Honduras.
I mean, that is a substantial group, and the reason why I like this idea so much, and in fact, that's my number two.
The reason I like this idea so much is that it's gonna, it's the probably the only way where we can compete with Europe.
Right.
Right, right.
If you look at the way Europe is structured at the moment, they get a chance to play against the top level because they're playing against each other, and there are those nations, the San Marinos, the Liechtensteins, the, you know, Estonia, that every once in a while come into that, aren't so, you know, soccer powerhouses or football powerhouses just yet, but they're, they're working on it.
Maybe Liechtenstein and San Marino don't get there 'cause they're like tiny, places.
Mm-hmm.
But when it comes to the US, a lot of, a lot of, and, and speaking just about US, and Mexico and, and Canada probably agree, but a lot of the nations you're gonna play aren't powerhouses, right?
So the games tend to be a little bit tougher.
They tend to be more going against a low block.
The, you're not gonna get that against your Brazils, and you know how we very rarely get a chance to play against a Brazil.
You're not gonna get that against an Argentina, against an Uruguay, against a Colombia.
We're gonna be testing ourselves against the best that this entire hemisphere has to offer.
So I think it's a tremendous idea.
I don't see anything negative about it.
I mean, for the, from a US perspective and, and a competition perspective, I think it's beneficial.
From the, more, just a, a bigger picture, more traditionalist kind of a thing, I don't think it's a great idea.
I think it, it possibly- Why is that?
I, I think it could possibly hurt some of the smaller nations in CONCA- CONMEBOL is a powerhouse.
Whether you are, Argentin- Argentina or, Bolivia, Venezuela, countries that, you know, a few that haven't made the World Cup, it, th- they are cut from a similar cloth.
They've, they've been in that situation.
And they can, and, and the, there's a higher standard kind of there for But there's only, what, eight?
How many CONMEBOL nations are there?
Eight?
10.
10?
Okay.
So it's just, it's, it's less to sort of, manage and work with.
I think the, the logistics, the travel for, again, some of these smaller countries, I think they're, it's gonna, cause a couple issues
