FIFA sets up Nations League task force
Football's ruling body FIFA has delayed a multi-billion dollar decision on a revised Club World Cup and global Nations League after opposition from Europe, setting up a task force instead.
Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, the FIFA Council on Friday stopped short of reaching an agreement in principle which was desired by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The task force is to be led by Infantino and include the presidents of all six FIFA confederations. They are to examine the changes and outline the advantages of the revamped events for the next council meeting in March in Miami.
That meeting comes a year after Infantino first presented the idea, backed by a $US25 billion offer from international investors said to include Japan's SoftBank.
Infantiono's proposal has been met by fierce opposition, mainly from Europe with its biggest and richest leagues and clubs in the sport. European officials were also upset by a lack of consultation by FIFA.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said that "common sense prevailed" on Friday, and FIFA said the task force would "continue and strengthen the consultation process."
The council also approved the Copa America to be moved from odd to even years from 2020 onwards, moving the Africa Cup of Nations from January/February to June/July from 2023, and raising its contribution to the 2019 women's World Cup to $US50 million, including doubling the prize money from 2015 to $US30 million.
