UEFA-CONMEBOL new soccer showcase in Spain

Article posted by Coliseum, July 14^th, 2023

Image: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Валерий Дед, CC BY 3.0

The Europa League champions Sevilla FC (Spain) and the Copa Sudamericana winners Independiente del Valle (Ecuador) will face each other in the new Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)-South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Club Challenge.

The match will be played in Seville, Spain on July 19^th.

‘BBC’ stated that the European governing body UEFA and the South American Confederation CONMEBOL have linked up to create the competition.

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The UEFA Europa League is an annual football club competition organized since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Europa Conference League.

The UEFA Champions League is an annual club association football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout format, and a single leg final.

The UEFA Europa Conference League, which will be renamed the UEFA Conference League from the 2024-2025 seasons, is an annual football club competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations for eligible European football clubs.

The Sevilla Fútbol Club is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, the capital and largest City of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. It plays in Spanish football’s top flight, La Liga. Sevilla have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League seven times, the most of any club. The 43,883-capacity Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium serves as their home ground.

The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as Copa Sudamericana, is an annual international club football competition organized by the CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second most prestigious club competition in South American football. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) clubs were invited between 2004 and 2008.

The Independiente del Valle is a professional football club based in Sangolquí, Ecuador, that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A (the top of the Ecuadorian football league system). The 12,000-capacity Estadio Banco Guayaquil in Quito, Ecuador, serves as their home ground.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción.

Miami, Florida (US)-based the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as Concacaf, is one of FIFA’s six continental governing bodies for association football.

‘BBC’ further stated that the first edition will be named in honor of the former Sevilla player Antonio Puerta, who died in 2007, aged 22, after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The CONMEBOL sent out a statement which read, “The Club Challenge is a one-off fixture played over 90 minutes. There is no extra time, so if the tie is level at the end of the regulation time, it goes straight to penalties. The winners will receive a plaque and medals specially designed for the occasion.”

The move follows plans by the FIFA to stage an expanded Club World Cup featuring 32 men’s teams from June 2025.

The football’s world governing body also hopes to introduce a women’s version, with both held every four years.

Zürich (Switzerland)-based the Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

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