Fédération Internationale de Football Association - London International Model United Nations 21st Session | 2020 - limun
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Fédération
Internationale de
Football Association
London International Model United Nations
21st Session | 2020
1
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FIFA Model United Nations 2020
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Committee 6
Topic A: Dealing with Corruption in FIFA 8
Introduction 8
Key Definitions 9
Timeline of Events/ Discussion of Topic 11
Bloc Position 20
Conclusion 21
Further Reading 22
Topic B: 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, Bidding Process 28
Introduction 29
Definitions 30
Timeline of Events 31
Discussion 35
Bloc Positions 36
Conclusion 38
Further Reading 39
Bibliography 40
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INTRODUCTION LETTER
Distinguished delegates of the FIFA Committee,
We would like to welcome you to LIMUN 2020. We are more than proud to
have you in our committee and we do hope that you will have a fruitful time
while debating upon crucial issues within the FIFA sessions. Your devotion,
hard work and responsibility are required not only during the conference
but also before your arrival in the magical city of London. You will have to
conduct detailed research to k´ow your country’s policy and be able to think
of innovative solutions for our topics. That consists a prerequisite so that
you can have a unique experience. We firmly believe that this study guide
will become food for thought to you who are accepting the challenge of
writing an excellent resolution at the end of LIMUN. Apart from that, we do
hope that all of you will leave the conference with a better understanding
of how the UN works.
We look forward to hearing your ideas this February; simultaneously we
promise that we will do our best so that these days will become an
unforgettable MUN story.
Good luck! Ángel Navarrete Torres & Alexia - Ileana Salmon
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Director – Ángel Navarrete Torres
Hello, fellow delegates, and welcome to one of the most exciting
committees in LIMUN 2020, FIFA!
Let me introduce myself: I was lucky enough to be born, in 1997, in the
most beautiful city the world has ever seen, Granada, located in the south
of Spain. I had always considered myself as someone who never liked
diplomacy, following my perception of it as something really inactive and
incapable of solving complex problems and that the only element that gives
you power in this world is money.
However, once I entered the University of Navarra, where I currently study
my 5th year of Economics, Leadership and Governance, I realised that
diplomacy is useful, but it may only work correctly when personal interests,
money and corruption are not the factors that move the world. Combining
this way of living (immoral, but way of living) with my passion for sports,
in my 13th MUN, the 4th one in London, is just magical.
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Assistant Director - Alexia Ileana Salmon
Dear Delegates,
My name is Alexia Salmon and I have finished my bachelor studies in the
department of International Relations & Diplomacy at the University of
Piraeus, in Athens, Greece. I am a 22-year-old Greek/French girl who
decided in 2018 to spend a semester studying international law and
economics at Sciences Po as an Erasmus student. I have always been
passionate about public speaking, international affairs and diplomacy. This
is the main reason why I started my MUN journey back in 2016. Over the
last four years, I have participated both as a delegate and a chairperson in
many simulations of the UN, of European & Regional organisations in
Greece and internationally such as EUropaS., BISMUN, MILMUN, PIMUN,
RhodesMRC etc. I have also served for almost 2 years as the President of
the MUN Society of my university.
I firmly believe that MUN experiences can be exciting as well as life
changing, since you meet people from every possible corner of this world
and you have the opportunity to create an everlasting story with them.
I am eagerly waiting to meet in person my FIFA delegates so as to impart
the love I have for simulations and to make LIMUN 2020 an unforgettable
MUN journey for you all! Be patient, be strong, work hard and come enjoy
the FIFA games.
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Introduction to the
Committee
The Fédération International de Football Association is a non-profit
organization which is considered an international governing body mainly
concentrating its operation in the filed of football. It was founded in 1904
from the national associations of France, Germany, the Netherlands,
Denmark, Switzerland and Sweden and today consists of 211 national
associations. The main goals of the committee include: the growth of
football in the international level, the accessibility of football for everyone
as well as the fair play with integrity. The FIFA Committee is responsible
for the organisation and promotion of some football tournaments such as
the World Cup and the Women’s World Cup. However, FIFA cannot control
the rules of football games since the International Football Association
Board is responsible of their creation. FIFA, as a member of the
aforementioned Association has to implement these rules and make sure
that during all international games the procedure is followed properly1.
As a world governing body, FIFA plays a significant role for all
international sporting federations in the sectors of governance, regulations
and reports while cooperating with legal and accounting specialists. More
specifically, FIFA is considered of 8 committees which operate in different
fields that affect the football world. Those committees are namely: the
Development Committee, the Finance Committee, the Football
Stakeholders Committee, the Governance Committee and Review
1 (FIFA). (2019). FIFA Governance Regulations (FGR). Zurich, Switzerland: FIFA
Committee. Retrieved from https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-governance-
regulations-2016-2112075.pdf?cloudid=hoqftq5c00zsy25kio1y
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Committee, the Medial Committee, the Member Associations Committee,
the Player’s Status Committee and the Referees Committee2.
The FIFA President holds the highest office at FIFA. He is elected for a
period of 4 years by the member associations represented at the FIFA
Congress which can vote and be also re-elected. The FIFA Statutes
implements the rights and responsibilities of the President. The President
has to preside over the FIFA Congress, Executive and Emergency
Committee meetings and others. According to the statutes, the congress is
the supreme body of the organization. At this forum a variety of articles
dictates which issues have to be discussed and which decisions must be
taken. Its form is legislative and that is why it is responsible for developing
the game, the nature of which has been subject to rapid change over the
past few years. At this point it is important to mention that each member
has one vote at the Congress. In order to separate powers, the Ethics
Committee which operates independently is established as the third judicial
body under the auspice of the FIFA Code of Ethics. The Ethics Committee
is supervising the entire football community and helps in tackling current
challenges such as the illegal betting, bribery and other prohibited
activities. According to the Code of Ethics, disciplinary sanctions can be
imposed on offending officials, players, player’s agents and match agents3.
Moving on to the Committee’s mandate, it is significant to mention that
football may be a simple game, but its circumstances keep changing day
by day. FIFA must take into account a wide range of developments and
other factors and decide on numerous issues in accordance with football
2 FIFA Statutes. (June 2019). FIFA Statutes: regulations governing the application of the
statutes. Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA. Retrieved from
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-statutes-5-august-2019-
en.pdf?cloudid=ggyamhxxv8jrdfbekrrm
3 FIFA. (2018). How FIFA Works. Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA. Retrieved from
https://www.fifa.com/governance/how-fifa-works/index.html
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and its regulations. Its main goal is to conduct a financial statement and
an annual report concerning decisions and recommendations about
challenges and issues of football4.
Topic A: Dealing with
Corruption in FIFA
Introduction
4 FIFA. (2019). FIFA Code of Ethics. Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved from
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-code-of-ethics-2019-
version.pdf?cloudid=la3f5yqsox5cns9oypkg
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Football is played in every country, territory, and remote island on
this globe from South Korea to Antartica and more. Since its founding in
1904, FIFA has made its primary goal to encourage and promote
international football. With no surprise, football has become immensely
profitable in Europe and the World Cup generates billions of dollars for FIFA.
However, at a global level, football has endured many decades of illegal
activities such as gambling, match-fixing, bribery, money laundering, tax
evasion and corruption generally. Today the list of football scandals seems
endless.
It has affected many countries such as Brazil, China, France, Greece,
Portugal, Romania, Italy, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia and many more5.
According to Transparency International research conducted in 2017, 53%
of the fans responding had no confidence in FIFA and 46% didn't believe
that FIFA was trying to solve the issues and fight against corruption in
football. Of the 25,000 participants who responded, the majority mentioned
match-fixing and bribing of referees as the main challenges that FIFA has
to concur6.
Our goal as the FIFA Committee during LIMUN 2020 Conference is to
debate the corruption level of FIFA and think of innovative, but most
importantly practical ways to fight corruption in the field of football.
Key Definitions
5 Naby L. (October 2017). Managing the Reputation of the Federation International
Association (FIFA): The case of the corruption crisis. Public Relations Journal, Egypt.
Retrieved from https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/FIFA-
Corruption.pdf
6 Unger D. (2 March 2017). FIFA must do more to win back trust of football fans.
Transparency International. Retrieved from
https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/fifa_must_do_more_to_win_back_trust_of_
football_fans
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In order to feel more familiar with the concept of corruption in the football
sector, it is of utmost importance to know the exact meaning of some
keywords which are related to our issue.
• Corruption: According to Transparency International “corruption is the
abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand,
petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the
sector where it occurs”.7
• Bribery: According to the Collins Dictionary “bribery is the act of offering
someone money or something valuable in order to persuade them do
something for you”.8
• Gambling: According to dictionary.com “gambling is the activity or
practice of playing at a game of chance for money or other stakes. It is
an act or practice of risking the loos of something important by taking a
chance or acting recklessly”.9
• Match-Fixing: According to Cambridge dictionary “match-fixing is a
dishonest activity to make sure that one team wins a particular sports
match”.10
• Money Laundering: According to Investopedia “money Laundering is
the process of making large amounts of money generated by a criminal
activity such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come
from a legitimate source. The money from the criminal activity is
7 Transparency International (2018). What is Corruption?. Transparency International.
Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption
8 Collins Dictionary. (2018). Definition of bribery. Collins Dictionary. Retrieved from
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bribery
9 Dictionary (2019). Gambling. Dictionary. Retrieved from
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gambling
10 Cambridge Dictionary. (2019). Meaning of Match-fixing. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge
Dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/match-
fixing
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considered dirty, and the process “launders” it to make it look clean.
Money laundering is itself a crime”.11
• Tax evasion: According to Investopedia “tax evasion is an illegal activity
in which a person or entity deliberately avoids paying a true tax liability.
Those caught evading taxes are generally subject to criminal charges and
substantial penalties. To wilfully fail to pay taxes is a federal offence under
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code”.12
Timeline of Events/ Discussion of Topic
A timeline of the most significant scandals at FIFA will be presented to the
delegates so that they understand past incidents of corruption, its causes
and repercussions as well as to think of possible solutions.
❖ Italy - World Cup 1934:
11 Chen J. (25 June 2019). What is Money Laundering?. Investopedia. Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/moneylaundering.asp
12 Kagan J. (7 August 2019). What is Tax Evasion?. Investopedia. Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp
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Europe went through considerable changes during the 20th century,
from monarchy to democracy to church domination and despotism with no
political ideology being adopted 100%. Two quite new notions - Fascism
and Nazism - made their appearance at that time when football has started
to become the sport of the masses. Three leaders namely Mussolini, Hitler
and Franco tried to exploit the popular appeal of football so as to take
advantage of the propaganda that is used to sports and manipulate the
crowds. Having established his regime, Benito Mussolini was interested in
making fascism the primary ideology of his people.
As mentioned above, sport is something that belongs to the masses
as it involves all the fans who are watching the games from the sidelines
whilst supporting their favourite team13. That is what Mussolini thought
when he realised that he could use this sport so as to modify the opinion
and views of the masses.
At the beginning, Mussolini and his political party established the
Italian League - Serie A. Led by Leandro Arpinati - the grad of Bolognese
Fascism - the federation began revolutionising the game. Hosting the 1934
World Cup was Mussolini’s big chance because he had the opportunity to
show off his nation’s mettle via the organization of the event as well as
through the performance of his nation on the field. He wanted to have the
ultimate say in his nation’s result and that is what he exactly did: referees
were bribed, and corruption was more than obvious.
To be more precise, Mussolini was accused of selecting the referees and
dining with them so as convince them about the side they should support14.
Indeed, Italy won the first match 7-1 against the USA, which shocked
13 The PA Team (11 March 2018). 1934 World Cup - The story of Mussolini, Italy, and
the fascist blackshirts. Italy, Punditarena. Retrieved from
https://punditarena.com/football/thepateam/1934-world-cup-mussolini-italy-fascists/
14 Balser B., Santalbano A. (2013). The 1934 World Cup. Duke University, Soccer
Politics. Retrieved from https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-projects/football-and-
politics-in-europe-1930s-1950s/mussolinis-football/the-1934-world-cup/
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everyone. The same situation followed with Spain and Austria where it was
believed that Mussolini had dinner with the Swedish referee - Ivan Eklind -
who would officiate the match.In the final, the Italians won the cup on home
terrain and Mussolini achieved his ultimate goal: to show off his country on
the world.
According to the accusations, Mussolini personally selected referees for
the matches where the Italian national team were playing, while his
government meddled in FIFA’s events, and reorganised the logistics of the
matches to further promote fascism. It was not random that Italy won the
following edition of the World Cup15.
❖ World Cup France 1998:
Brazil’s capitulation during the 1998 World Cup came out of the blue and
shocked the French government. The story began just five days before the
final match when Brazil had already eliminated the Netherlands which was
until then their most hard encounter during a tournament.
The famous football player Ronaldo had opened the score and converted
Brazil’s first penalty. Despite this success, on the 12th of July the day of the
final, Ronaldo broke down and cried when arriving at the team’s hotel after
lunch. It looked like pressure had taken over him in a level that he could
not control it. As the doctors mentioned he was experiencing convulsions,
something never seen before in a football player and also declared that he
was taking the painkiller Voltaren for more than a month. Unexpectedly,
40 minutes prior to kick-off, Ronaldo announced that he was ready to
15 Hart J. ( 27 July 2016). When the World Cup rolled into Fascist Italy in 1934. The
football Times. Retrieved from https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/07/27/when-the-
world-cup-rolled-into-fascist-italy-in-1934/
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play16. This incident created many questions; three possible scenarios were
developed so as to understand what was really happening.
The first one suggests that Ronaldo was hiding a secret medical
condition. Ronaldo had been a football player since 1994 when he was 17
years old and the sudden situation of anxiety and stress was the first and
last that has ever happened to him, so that made the incident stranger.
The questions that were raised concerns about his health issues which could
have possibly been private and hidden from the public with the doctors
exploiting the situation and making things worse for Ronaldo by prescribing
painkillers. The second scenario postulates that Brazil’s players accepted
bribes so as to throw the match. An amount of 15.000.000 € was thought
of being offered to the Brazil team as well as the possibility of hosting a
World Cup in the future with the prerequisite that they would beat the
French team. If this is true, then it is possible that Ronaldo felt
uncomfortable with the agreement and changed his mind17.
The last theory supports that after the match day, Nike revealed this
statement: “With regard to rumours circulating about presumed pressures
Nike put on the Brazilian national soccer team so that Ronaldo would play,
Nike wants to emphasise that the report of such involvement is absolutely
false. Ronaldo and Zagallo decided together to crown this dream which the
Brazilian player, probably, deserved to live. In all of this Nike did not
interfere in any way. And besides, why should it have?”
However, Nike could have easily interfered in the match since it was
sponsoring Ronaldo. The company had invested a lot of money in the 1998
World Cup and the majority of their marketing was based around the Brazil
national team and more specifically Ronaldo. If Ronaldo decided to give up
16 Elliott N. (2018). The unsolved mystery of Ronaldo’s 1998 World Cup Final. Dream
Team. Retrieved from https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/165418/mystery-
ronaldo-1998-world-cup/
17 FourFourTwo. (27 March 2018). What really happened to Ronaldo before the 1998
World Cup Final - in his own words. FourFourTwo. Retrieved from
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/what-really-happened-ronaldo-1998-world-cup-
final-his-own-words
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on the game, the company’s reputation could be severely damaged and
threatened. If the image of the strongest and youngest football player could
fall apart within seconds, then the image of Nike could also fall apart by
losing fans and consumers18. Nevertheless, the day of the match Ronaldo
managed to provide the team with good opportunities but France after half-
time asserted control, with Zidane scoring his second goal. The match
ended with a score of 0-3 in favour of France.
The questions about Ronaldo’s health issues remained unanswered;
meanwhile a new scandal occurred. After the end of the match and the
French victory, the former UEFA president Michel Platini was sanctioned
with a six year ban from the FIFA Ethics Committee when he admitted that
the win of France involved match-fixing. Platini was banned for eight years
in December along with former President, Sepp Blatter over a payment of
2.000.000 CHF. FIFAS’s Ethics Committee, which imposed the ban, said the
payment, made at a time when Blatter was seeking re-election, lacked
transparency and presented conflicts of interest. Both men denied
wrongdoing. Both had their bans reduced to six years by FIFA’s Appeal
Committee in 2016 and the allegations against Platini are still ongoing19.
18 Angeli E. (23 February 2017). Nike’s manipulation of the ’98 World Cup cost football
Ronaldo’s finest moment. The Versed. Retrieved from
https://www.theversed.com/45278/nike-world-cup-ronaldo-1998-france-
brazil/#.UWutiFW12g
19 The Guardian. (18 May 2018). Michel Platini says 1998 World Cup draw ‘trickery’ led
to France v Brazil final. The Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/18/michel-platini-world-cup-1998-
brazil-france-draw-trickery
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Michel Platini is pictured celebrating with France captain Didier Deschamps after the hosts
beat Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final in Paris. Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/EPA. Retrieved
from: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/18/michel-platini-world-cup-
1998-brazil-france-draw-trickery
❖ World Cup Japan – South Korea 2002:
In 1996, FIFA decided to give the right to two countries to jointly host the
leading football competition, the World Cup. Before the vote, Japan and
South Korea decided to join forces and thus took over the organization of
the event.
Their political and social issues have taken them several years to
resolve and so the problems have been numerous at the organisational and
accounting level. In the 2002 game, however, favouritism towards South
Korea was rather overt. The phenomenon has peaked in the knockout
stages when Ecuador’s Byron Moreno has been indicted by Francesco Totti
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and Givani Trapatoni for organized conspiracy against the Italy20. The main
cause concerned the incidents taking place during the match. In particular
those incidents concern the penalty shoot-out in favour of South Korea in
the first half, Damiano Tomazi’s goal which was mistakenly canceled out as
a goalkeeper in the extension as well as his second yellow card for a foul
on Chong Gong Song.
Later, Moreno accused his assistant of making a mistake in the game
while FIFA’s President, Sepp Blatter, denied having conspired against Italy
but admitted there were errors: “Italy’s exclusion is not just for referees
and assistants who made mistakes. Italy also made mistakes in both
defense and attack”21.
❖ World Cup Russia 2018:
In 2010, the FIFA Executive Committee met in Zurich so as to select the
hosting country of the 2018 World Cup. Russia won the 2018 World Cup in
the second round of voting with a total of 13 votes. The Football Federation
of the UK and others made allegations of corruption against the Russian
team and to FIFA members. They argued that four members of the
executive committee had wanted to vote in favour of England while Sepp
Blatter said it had already been decided that Russia would win.
The 2014 Garcia Report, an internal investigation conducted by
Michael Garcia was overshadowed by the the release of Hans Joachim
Eckert, FIFA’s Chief of Ethics. Russia’s bid for the World Cup was presented
as an opportunity for the country to showcase its progression since the
collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia’s World Cup proposal argued that
20 Bratsos K. (12 June 2014). Ιαπωνία & Νότια Κορέα - 2002. Athens, Greece, Contra.
Retrieved from https://www.contra.gr/podosfairo/iaponia-notia-korea-
2002.7141079.html
21 Lothano A. (18 June 2015). Μορένο, ο διαιτητής που έσφαξε την Ιταλία στο Μουντιάλ
του 2002. Athens, Greece, Sport 24. Retrieved from
https://www.sport24.gr/Files/moreno-o-diaithths-poy-esfakse-thn-italia-sto-moyntial-
toy-2002.3535107.html
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hosting the tournament would be a net positive for the country in long-
term, as infrastructure projects had the potential to spark the Russian
economy and leave a lasting impact on regional development. Russia was
accused of trying to utilise this World Cup as an opportunity to improve its
image internationally22. During 2015 an investigation was conducted by FBI
members, where some FIFA members were arrested as they were accused
of a professional football scam.
At the same time, the Swiss authorities raided the FIFA headquarters
in Zurich and announced that an investigation would begin into 2022 World
Cup in Qatar. The FBI Director James Comey declared that “the defendants
have reinforced the culture of corruption and greed which have created
inequality for the world’s largest sport”. According to the New York Times,
the FIFA executives arrested were facing the charges of blackmail, bribery
and money laundering. The defendants have raised over 100 million dollars
in the last 20 years. At the same time, 14 total arrests relating to
procedures of assigning world cups, marketing and broadcasting rights
were announced. On the other side the Russian declared they would make
public all the required data and information in order to prove its innocence
and irrelevance to the FIFA executive’s actions23.
❖ World Cup Qatar 2022:
The awarding of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar created a number of
concerns and controversies. The primary question raised was about the
country and its suitability of being the host of the 2022 event due to its
22Bensinger K. (14 June 2018). How Russia won the World Cup. UK, The
Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/14/how-russia-won-the-
world-cup
23 Πρώτο Θέμα. (27 May 2015). Σκάνδαλο FIFA: Ψάχνουν μήπως Ρωσία-Κατάρ
εξαγόρασαν τα Μουντιάλ 2018 και 2022. Greece, Πρώτο Θέμα. Retrived from
https://www.protothema.gr/sports/article/479691/eleghoun-mipos-rosia-katar-
exagorasan-to-moudial-2018-kai-2022/
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human rights issues.It is believed that the country was mainly selected due
to its oil and gas deposits as well as due to the fact that it is one of the
richest countries in the world24. It is also the country with the highest per
capita income globally. A second concern is regarding the issue of alcohol.
For instance, all the fans who enjoy consuming beers or any other kind of
alcohol during the matches, will have major issues if they act in this way
when coming to Qatar.
Moreover, the geography of Qatar is a separate issue that has both
positive and negative implications: of the seven cities where the matches
will take place, five are within a 25km radius. That being said, it is deniable
how the police officers will manage the World Cup fans in such short
distances so that the country does not experience fights among the fans of
opposite teams.
Furthermore, another issue concerns the voting procedure. It took
four voting rounds to get Qatar anchored, even if the country had well over
half of the votes of the FIFA Executive Committee in all four rounds.
Whispers and conspiracy theories about what happened in the background,
which promises were made, how much money was invested are unlikely to
stop nor will we ever know the exact truth.
Last but not least, during June-July, months usually when the World
Cup is held, temperatures in Qatar range between 40 and 50 Celsius
degrees. In such a case, the atmosphere will be uncomfortable not only for
the fans but also the participants. One possible solution is to change the
time when the World Cup will begin but there are concerns about how fair
is to suddenly change a tradition of this event and affect the participation
of the national associations25.
24 Papantonopoulou V. (16 November 2014). Κατάρ 2022: το μουντιάλ των
ερωτηματικών. Greece, Efsyn. Retrieved from
https://www.efsyn.gr/athlitismos/podosfairo/4036_katar-2022-moyntial-ton-
erotimatikon
25 Ibid.
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Bloc Position
Being corruption an international illness, it is true that it has multiple ways
of being committed, especially when large amounts of money may be
moved in the operation. FIFA has been the objective of many accusations
from diverse entities due to its practices across time.
FIFA Council: The executive body of FIFA and the one in charge of the
election of the venues for all FIFA tournaments has been criticized for
accepting political pressure since the very beginning of the World Cup in
1930. Since then, they have been involved in various unproven and proven
cases of corruption being the most relevant the 2015 scandal, where FBI
intervened to solve one of the most complex schemes seen in sports.
National Federations: Related with the FIFA Council, political pressure tends
to be impulse by national federations, mainly those electable to host the
major tournaments held by FIFA. From this perspective, Italy, France,
South Korea, Russia and Qatar are the most well-known examples, but
other countries may be affected by this issue. National federations are the
ones who have to begin the process of eliminating corruption from FIFA
through their internal functioning as well as through their representatives
in the FIFA Council.
Confederations: Represented by their member countries, all six
confederations must ensure that all practices done by FIFA, and national
federations fit in the Code of Ethics and the legislation created by FIFA,
taking advantage of their position of intermediaries between federations
and FIFA.
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Conclusion
The motto of FIFA is that football is everywhere and for everyone. It is true
that FIFA has contributed in so many ways to the development of some
continents such as Europe. FIFA has assisted Europe in the development of
its economy since it has cooperated with the private and public sector which
had the chance to gain significant amounts of money coming from the FIFA
revenues of more than EUR 2bn when events such as the World Cup are
being organised.
Additionally, in terms of equality and human rights, between 2016
and 2019 FIFA has tried to raise awareness about how important it is for
women to also participate in football matches, through many initiatives
such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Girls Youth Olympic Football
Tournament. FIFA has also contributed to make this world a better place
through its active participation and promotion of philanthropic events26.
However, in terms of organisation, it is said that FIFA has not treated
equally all the confederations. In particular,the Confederation of African
Football has been treated poorly, even though the roots of the game are
coming from the African continent. It is generally admitted that for non-
European countries it was always more difficult and complex to get the
opportunity to host events such as the World Cup and that is proved since
countries in Asia, Oceania and Africa have hosted very few World Cups.
Questions a Resolution should answer:
❖ What is your country’s relation with and position towards the FIFA?
❖ What are the causes of all the corruption in FIFA?
❖ What are the repercussions of the scams in FIFA?
26 FIFA. (2019). FIFA’s key achievements: 2016-2019. Zurich, FIFA. Retrieved from
https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/qyxnjzjfwwv5wcpnfugp.pdf
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❖ Is the legal framework of FIFA enough to reduce incidents of bribery
and money laundering?
❖ Do you think that the work of the FIFA Ethics Committee is good
enough or there is more progress to be done?
❖ Are the corruption events mentioned above solved? If not, how would
your country contribute in solving the mystery behind the allegations?
❖ Are there any other important scandals that need to be discussed?
❖ How your country reacted to the issues discussed?
What are some useful proposals in order to avoid the aforementioned issues
during the World Cup in Qatar 2022?
❖ Should the procedure of voting for the next hosting country of the
World Cup be changed? If so, why?
❖ Are there any possible solutions which can be practically implemented
so as to solve the issue of corruption?
Further Reading:
In this section, you may find some useful information and further details
about our topic. Please, take a look at the links below:
• https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/datdz0pms85gbnqy4j3k.pdf
• https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/q28gdktklmbx20lrsgyl.pdf
• https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/the-fifa-statutes-
2018.pdf?cloudid=whhncbdzio03cuhmwfxa
• https://www.academia.edu/24346431/Sports_Journalism_and
_the_FIFA_Scandal_Personalization_Co-optation_Investigation
• https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-code-of-ethics-
2018-version-takes-effect-12-08-
18.pdf?cloudid=uemlkcy8wwdtlll6sy3j
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Bibliography:
● Angeli E. (23 February 2017). Nike’s manipulation of the ’98 World Cup
cost football Ronaldo’s finest moment. The Versed. Retrieved from
https://www.theversed.com/45278/nike-world-cup-ronaldo-1998-france-
brazil/#.UWutiFW12g
● Balser B., Santalbano A. (2013). The 1934 World Cup. Duke University,
Soccer Politics. Retrieved from https://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/research-
projects/football-and-politics-in-europe-1930s-1950s/mussolinis-
football/the-1934-world-cup/
● Bensinger K. (14 June 2018). How Russia won the World Cup. UK, The
Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/14/how-russia-won-the-
world-cup
● Bratsos K. (12 June 2014). Ιαπωνία & Νότια Κορέα - 2002. Athens,
Greece, Contra. Retrieved from https://www.contra.gr/podosfairo/iaponia-
notia-korea-2002.7141079.html
● Cambridge Dictionary. (2019). Meaning of Match-fixing. Cambridge, UK,
Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved from
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/match-fixing
● Chen J. (25 June 2019). What is Money Laundering?. Investopedia.
Retrieved from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/moneylaundering.asp
● Collins Dictionary. (2018). Definition of bribery. Collins Dictionary.
Retrieved from
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bribery
● Dictionary (2019). Gambling. Dictionary. Retrieved from
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gambling
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● Elliott N. (2018). The unsolved mystery of Ronaldo’s 1998 World Cup
Final. Dream Team. Retrieved from
https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/165418/mystery-ronaldo-
1998-world-cup/
● FIFA. (2019). FIFA Code of Ethics. Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved from
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-code-of-ethics-2019-
version.pdf?cloudid=la3f5yqsox5cns9oypkg
● (FIFA). (2019). FIFA Governance Regulations (FGR). Zurich,
Switzerland: FIFA Committee. Retrieved from
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-governance-regulations-
2016-2112075.pdf?cloudid=hoqftq5c00zsy25kio1y
● FIFA. (2018). How FIFA Works. Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA. Retrieved
from https://www.fifa.com/governance/how-fifa-works/index.html
● FIFA. (2019). FIFA’s key achievements: 2016-2019. Zurich, FIFA.
Retrieved from
https://img.fifa.com/image/upload/qyxnjzjfwwv5wcpnfugp.pdf
● FIFA Statutes. (June 2019). FIFA Statutes: regulations governing the
application of the statutes. Zurich, Switzerland. FIFA. Retrieved from
https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/fifa-statutes-5-august-2019-
en.pdf?cloudid=ggyamhxxv8jrdfbekrrm
● FourFourTwo. (27 March 2018). What really happened to Ronaldo before
the 1998 World Cup Final - in his own words. FourFourTwo. Retrieved
from https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/what-really-happened-
ronaldo-1998-world-cup-final-his-own-words
● Hart J. ( 27 July 2016). When the World Cup rolled into Fascist Italy in
1934. The football Times. Retrieved from
https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/07/27/when-the-world-cup-rolled-into-
fascist-italy-in-1934/
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● Kagan J. (7 August 2019). What is Tax Evasion?. Investopedia. Retrieved
from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp
● Lothano A. (18 June 2015). Μορένο, ο διαιτητής που έσφαξε την Ιταλία
στο Μουντιάλ του 2002. Athens, Greece, Sport 24. Retrieved from
https://www.sport24.gr/Files/moreno-o-diaithths-poy-esfakse-thn-italia-
sto-moyntial-toy-2002.3535107.html
● Naby L. (October 2017). Managing the Reputation of the Federation
International Association (FIFA): The case of the corruption crisis. Public
Relations Journal, Egypt. Retrieved from
https://prjournal.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/FIFA-
Corruption.pdf
● Papantonopoulou V. (16 November 2014). Κατάρ 2022: το μουντιάλ των
ερωτηματικών. Greece, Efsyn. Retrieved from
https://www.efsyn.gr/athlitismos/podosfairo/4036_katar-2022-moyntial-
ton-erotimatikon The Guardian. (18 May 2018). Michel Platini says 1998
World Cup draw ‘trickery’ led to France v Brazil final. The Guardian.
Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/18/michel-platini-
world-cup-1998-brazil-france-draw-trickery
● The PA Team (11 March 2018). 1934 World Cup - The story of Mussolini,
Italy, and the fascist blackshirts. Italy, Punditarena. Retrieved from
https://punditarena.com/football/thepateam/1934-world-cup-mussolini-
italy-fascists/
● Transparency International (2018). What is Corruption?. Transparency
International. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/what-is-
corruption
● Unger D. (2 March 2017). FIFA must do more to win back trust of football
fans. Transparency International. Retrieved from
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https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/fifa_must_do_more_to_win_
back_trust_of_football_fans
● Πρώτο Θέμα. (27 May 2015). Σκάνδαλο FIFA: Ψάχνουν μήπως Ρωσία-
Κατάρ εξαγόρασαν τα Μουντιάλ 2018 και 2022. Greece, Πρώτο Θέμα.
Retrived from https://www.protothema.gr/sports/article/479691/eleghoun-
mipos-rosia-katar-exagorasan-to-moudial-2018-kai-2022/
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Topic B: 2021 FIFA Club
World Cup, The Bidding
Process
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Introduction:
The FIFA Club World Cup is the competition that defines the best club in
the world and, until the 2020 edition, which will be held in Qatar, is played
yearly among the continental champions and the league winner of the host
country. However, in 2021, the format has changed to a 24-team
tournament27 that will take place every four years, matching the model of
the FIFA World Cup and replacing the Confederations Cup as the
tournament played the summerbefore the FIFA World Cup.
Although outside this committee, China has been elected by unanimity by
the FIFA Council as the venue for this 2021 FIFA Club World Cup. In LIMUN,
countries are expected to present their bids to host this tournament and
show the world that, most of the times, football politics is what truly
determines the destiny of this sport. It is not only necessary to propose the
best bid, but it is also crucial to perfectly lobby with other countries, as the
host of the Club World Cup will be elected by the members of the “FIFA
Council”, being this represented by all the delegates having one vote each.
Votingprocedure will happen on Saturday after lunch to reduce the
interruption of the intense debate of Topic A, so delegates must be ready
to convince -or have already convinced- other delegates about their bid to
increase their likelihood of being elected.
The votings will be doneconfidentially, with each delegation writingtheir
preferred choice ona sheet of paper and handing it to the Chairs. Once all
delegates have delivered their vote, the Chairing team will count those
27Sky Sports. (2019, October 24). FIFA Club World Cup: China to host
expanded 24-team tournament in 2021. Retrieved from
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/11843622/fifa-club-
world-cup-china-to-host-expanded-24-team-tournament-in-2021.
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votes, announcing the bid that received the least votes, striking it out from
the next voting round. If, at the end of a round, there is any country with
zero votes, it will be automatically eliminated from the election process.
This is especially relevant during the first round of votings, as some
delegations may end up giving their vote to other bids and not receiving
any. In case of a tie for the last place, not including those bids with zero
votes, delegates will have to vote between the tied competitors to decide
which one remains in the fight.
Definitions:
FIFA Club World Cup: The major club tournament host by FIFA: it decides
which team will be crowned as the world champion for the following four
years, from the 2021 edition.
Bid: The candidatures that will be presented by delegates to host the 2021
FIFA Club World Cup.
National federations: The national federations are the highest body in
charge of football in each of the 211 members of FIFA and they
regulate their national competitions, such as the national league, the cup
and the national teams sent to international tournaments.
Confederation: A body that supervises the activities of all national
federations belonging to it, and the responsible of organizing the
continental tournaments, such as the Champions League, European Nations
League and Euro. There are only 6 confederations, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL,
UEFA, CAF, AFC and OFC.
FIFA: Created in 1904, has been the major body of football for 115 years
and is in charge of governing the sport worldwide, apart from a wide range
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of tournaments, especially the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World
Cup.
Timeline of Events:
July 3 - September 4, 1960 - First Intercontinental Cup.
The first Intercontinental Cup was played between Real Madrid and Peñarol,
as both winners of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup and the Copa
Libertadores. It ended up with a final result of 5-1 in favor of the Spaniards,
after Real Madrid took advantage ofbeing at home in the second leg of the
final,after the first match, played in Uruguay, ended 0-0 28. This was the
first intercontinental tournament recognized by FIFA, so Real Madrid were
crowned as the first club to become world champion29, although there were
already unofficial tournaments such as the Small Club World Cup, that took
place in Caracas, Venezuela30.
28 FIFA.com. History of FIFA - Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.fifa.com/about-
fifa/who-we-are/history/index.html.
29 García, J. (2018, December 21). How Real Madrid were crowned world champion 6
times: Real Madrid CF. Retrieved from
https://www.realmadrid.com/en/news/2018/12/how-real-madrid-were-crowned-world-
champion-6-times.
30 Revolvy, LLC. "Small Club World Cup" folder on Revolvy.com. Retrieved from
https://www.revolvy.com/folder/Small-Club-World-Cup/1111539.
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October 22, 1969 - The most violent final in football
history31.
The tenth edition of the Intercontinental Cup
was played by AC Milan, the Europen
champion, and Estudiantes de la Plata, the
representatives of Latin America. It is
considered by many, the most violent football
match ever played, due to the extreme tactics
employed by the Argentinian side, that were
able to demolish the Italian game by raw
force, with tackles directed to the knees, the
chest or wherever the Argentinians considered
necessary to recover the first-leg match that
ended in a 3-0 victory tothe Italians. This
happened under the amazed look of half of the
world, that watched, not believing their eyes,
how the referee let Estudiantes play brutally
against the Italians32. Here you will have a link to the game, where you can
see, for example in the minute 40:25 of the video a small example of what
happened33. That would provoke a logical boycott from European teams to
the tournament for the next 10 years even though Estudiantes could just
win the match 2-1 and, therefore, losing the final.
31 Calemme, M. (2019, October 22). Milan-Estudiantes: Football's "most violent game"
turns 50. Retrieved from
https://en.as.com/en/2019/10/22/football/1571746442_269867.html.
32 Pulling, C. (2013, March 5). La Bombonera Massacre 1969. Retrieved from
http://backpagefootball.com/la-bombonera-massacre-1969/54236/.
33 Pince, J. Estudiantes de La Plata vs AC Milan 1969 Intercontinental Cup 2nd Leg Full
Match. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00xvISQvjYY.
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1980 - The Toyota Cup as a solution to the boycott.
After that 1969 Intercontinental final, European teams would try not to play
the match in Latin America due to the “intensity” shown by Latin American
teams since 1965 in these matches. After some years of doubts about the
future of the competition, in 1980, the legendary Nottingham Forest,
Nacional de Montevideo and West Nally, a British company specialized in
sport marketing met to find a solution to avoid the collapse of the
competition. Toyota then appeared to propose a solution. They would
sponsor the tournament and its format would change to a single match
played in Japan. The solution was accepted by both teams, as it was
necessary to change the format to a single match and it could not be played
in Latin America or Europe, due to the risk it could carry for the away
team34.
2000 - FIFA creates the Club World Championship.
FIFA wanted to change the format of the Intercontinental Cup - known also
as Toyota Cup after the sponsorship but maintaining the presence of the
European and South American champions. However, as this was not
possible, FIFA decided to introduce the new century with a tournament that
would have, for the first time in history, clubs representing the 6
confederations, having Europe 2 representatives: Man. United as European
champion and Real Madrid after being named “Best club of the XX Century”;
as well as South America, with Vasco da Gama and Corinthians as
representatives both teams coming from the venues of the tournament, Río
de Janeiro and São Paulo35. Necaxa, from Mexico, would be the CONCACAF
representative; Al-Nassr, from Saudi Arabia represented Asia; Raja
34 Nacional y Nottingham Forest, Toyota Cup '80: choque entre dos mundos. (2016,
December 16). Retrieved from http://www.mondofutbol.com/es/toyota-cup-1980-
choque-entre-dos-mundos/.
35 FIFA.com. Brasil 2000: El mundo recibe una lección de samba. Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20131013181838/http://es.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/t
ournament=107/edition=3692/overview.html.
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Casablanca, from Morocco, Africa and South Melbourne represented
Oceania when Australia still belonged to OFC36. The tournament was won
by Vasco da Gama against Corinthians, showing the superiority of Brazilian
football, as would be reemphasised in the 2002 World Cup37.
2005 - FIFA Club World Cup is created.
After the Intercontinental Cup of 2004, FIFA decided to combine both the
Club World Championship and the Intercontinental Cup, giving birth to the
FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, held in Japan in 200538. This
tournament, as did the Club World Championship, would have
representatives from the 6 confederations and, like theToyota Cup, gave
the recognition of world champion to the winning team. Only the
continental winners had access to the tournament, where the European and
South America champions were promoted to the semi-finals, while the
other four champions had to play a quarter-final round. Apart from the two
quarterfinals, two semi-finals and the final, there were matches for third
and fifth place 39 . Since 2007, the host country’s league champion has
access to the tournament, playing a round of play-off for the quarterfinals
against the Oceanian champion40.
October 23, 2019 - China elected to host the new Club
World Cup.
36 FIFA.com. Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20120213165949/http://es.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/t
ournament=107/edition=3692/teams/index.html
37 FIFA.com. Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20120103231107/http://es.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/editi
on=4395/results/index.html
38 FIFA.com. FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005. Retrieved from
https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/archive/japan2005/index.html.
39 FIFA.com. FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup Japan 2005 - Matches. Retrieved
from https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/archive/japan2005/matches/index.html.
40 FIFA.com. FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007 - Matches. Retrieved from
https://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/archive/japan2007/matches/index.html.
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On March 2019, Gianni Infantino revealed that the FIFA Club World Cup
would be subject to drastic changes from the 2021 edition. It will be
composed by 24 teams41 coming from the six confederations and it will take
place each four years, as the World Cup does. As expected, the six
confederations will not be equally represented in this tournament, with
eight spots given to European teams, six to CONCACAF, three to
CONMEBOL, three to CAF, three to AFC and the final spot is given to OFC.
Each confederation establishes the parameters that will select the teams
representing them in the Club World Cup. The first edition of this new
version of the Club World Cup will be held in China from June 17, 2021
toJuly 4, 2021.
Discussion :
When the session after Saturday lunch begins, all delegates who have
presented a bid will move to the floor in the order established by the Dais
to present their candidature. Each delegation will have 3 minutes for their
speech and other 3 minutes to answer questions related to their bid. Once
they finish or the time runs out, the following delegation will repeat the
process until all bids have been introduced. Once this has happened, all
delegations will begin the voting procedure to eliminate the bids that obtain
the lowest result.
The final winner, apart from feeling the pride of “hosting” the 2021
FIFA Club World Cup, will receive a Diplomacy Award in the Closing
Ceremony for not only making the bestbid, but also for correctly lobbying
in favor of each delegation’s project, inducing people to select that one
rather than other delegates’.
41FIFA.com. Who We Are - News - FIFA Council votes for the introduction of a revamped
FIFA Club World Cup. Retrieved from https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/who-we-
are/news/fifa-council-votes-for-the-introduction-of-a-revamped-fifa-club-world-cup.
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Bloc Positions:
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations): The largest confederation
in FIFA, with 55 national federations, will also be the confederation with the
largest amount of spots, 8, which will be given to the Champions League
and Europe League winners of 2018, 2019, 2020 and 202142. This means
that Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea are already
qualified for the tournament. It is also the confederation with the largest
amount of FIFA World Cup and Club World Cup trophies, with 12 World Cup
wins - 4 Germany and Italy, 2 France, 1 Spain and England and 32 Club
World Cups, being Real Madrid, with 7, its major representative.
CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol in Spanish, or South
American Football Confederation): On the other side, despite the low
amount of national federations, South American footballers have proven
their talent across history since 1920, when Uruguay obtained the gold
medal in the Olympics held in Amberes. 9 World Cup titles - 5 Brazil, 2
Argentina and Uruguay and 26 Club World Cup wins are the best argument
for them. There will be 6 representatives from this confederation, being
them the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana of 2019
and 2020. The other two spots are not yet confirmed, but they will likely
be given to the champion and the runner-up of the Supercopa
Sudamericana43.
CONCACAF (Confederation of North and Central American and the
Caribbean Association Football): The Confederation of North and Central
America and the Caribbean is composed by 33 national federations.
42 Carroll, S. (2019, October 24). Liverpool set for 2021 Club World Cup as format switch
confirmed. Retrieved from https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-
news/liverpool-look-set-2021-club-17138190.
43 La Conmebol, a punto de aprobar el regreso de la Supercopa Sudamericana. .
Retrieved from http://www.ecuagol.com/ecuagol/index.php?n=150168.
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However, few have reached Club World Cup Finals and the Confederation’s
best result in a World Cup wasthe semi-finals of the 1930 World Cup, where
the United States managed to finish in third position44. There will be 3 spots
for the Club World Cup 2021, but how will they be distributed is still an
unknown45. The Confederationhas hosted 3 World Cups, being them Mexico
in 1970 and 1986 and United States in 1994.
AFC (Asian Football Confederation): The second largest confederation, with
54 members, has hosted only one World Cup, the 2002 Korea/Japan World
Cup but the majority of FIFA Club World Cups, as well as the Toyota Cup
during the Intercontinental Cup period. Their best result in a World Cup is
the fourth position obtained by South Korea on home soil46. For the 2021
Club World Cup, they have the exact same situation as the CONCACAF with
3 spots whose distribution will be revealed in the next future.
CAF (Confédération Africaine de Football in French, or African Football
Confederation): The African Confederation is the one with the largest future
potential as many interesting African players are growing in the European
leagues. However, their current situation at the international level is that
they have only hosted one World Cup, in South Africa in 2010 and two Club
World Cups in Morocco in 2013 and 201447. As AFC and CONCACAF, they
have 3 spots available, but the requirements to fill each of them are still
unknown.
44 FIFA.com. Copa Mundial de la FIFA Uruguay 1930. Retrieved from
https://es.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/uruguay1930/index.html.
45 Luque, X. G. (2019, March 16). Así será el nuevo Mundial de Clubs a partir de 2021.
Retrieved from
https://www.lavanguardia.com/deportes/futbol/20190316/461049961568/mundial-de-
clubs-fifa.html.
46 FIFA.com. Copa Mundial de la FIFA Corea/Japón 2002. Retrieved from
https://es.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/koreajapan2002/index.html
47 FIFA.com. Copa Mundial de Clubes de la FIFA Catar 2019™ - FIFA.com. Retrieved from
https://es.fifa.com/clubworldcup/.
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