The 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup is scheduled to be the 11th edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's football tournament organized by FIFA. It is expected to be held in 2021, as a prelude to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | TBC |
| Teams | 8 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | TBA (in TBA host cities) |
← 2017 | |
Host selection
As is customary, the tournament was originally to be held in Qatar — host country of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as announced on 2 December 2010, after the country was awarded the hosting rights of the 2022 World Cup. However, concerns arose surrounding Qatar's high temperatures during the summer period (which also led to calls for the World Cup to be moved from its traditional June/July scheduling to November/December).
On 25 February 2015, this resulted in FIFA officially announcing that it would move the 2021 Confederations Cup to another country of the Asian Football Confederation, so it could still be held during the traditional window of June/July 2021, without interrupting domestic leagues. As compensation, another FIFA tournament, potentially the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, would be held in Qatar in November/December 2021, as the test event for the 2022 World Cup.[1][2]
Qualified teams
The eight competing teams will be: the hosts, the reigning World Cup champions, and the six holders of the FIFA confederation championships. If any team qualifies for multiple berths (e.g. if the World Cup champions also won their continental championship), the next best placed team from their continental championship qualifies.
| Country | Confederation | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearance in tournament1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBD | AFC | Host | TBD | TBD |
| TBD | TBD | 2018 FIFA World Cup winners[A] | 15 July 2018 | TBD |
| TBD | AFC | 2019 AFC Asian Cup winners[B] | 1 February 2019 | TBD |
| TBD | CONCACAF | 2019 CONCACAF Cup winners (winner of 2017 or 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup)[B][C] |
mid 2019 or later | TBD |
| TBD | CONMEBOL | 2019 Copa América winners[B] | 7 July 2019 | TBD |
| TBD | OFC | 2020 OFC Nations Cup winners[B] | mid 2020 | TBD |
| TBD | UEFA | UEFA Euro 2020 winners[B] | 12 July 2020 | TBD |
| TBD | CAF | TBC[D] | TBC | TBD |
- ^ If this team is the host of the 2021 Confederations Cup, the runners-up will qualify.[citation needed]
- ^ a b c d e If this team is already qualified for the 2021 Confederations Cup, the runners-up will qualify.[citation needed]
- ^ If the
United States wins both CONCACAF Gold Cups, it will qualify directly for the Confederations Cup.
- ^ The African representative is to be confirmed due to the change in the Africa Cup of Nations to be held in summer starting from 2019.
Possible abolishment
In October 2017, FIFA divulged plans to abolish the Confederations Cup by 2021 and replace it with a quadrennial, 24-team FIFA Club World Cup and move the latter tournament from December to June. A decision has yet to be made later in 2018.[3] There is also a proposal to replace the Confederations Cup with a "Nations League" tournament, following similar format to the UEFA Nations League and the CONCACAF Nations League.[4]
References
- ^ "FIFA strips Qatar of Confederations Cup". CBC Sports. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Late-November/late-December proposed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. 24 February 2015.
- ^ "Expanded Club World Cup could replace Confederations Cup - Infantino". ESPN. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ "FIFA Propose New 'Final 8' World Cup Tournament as Part of the International Football Reform". SI.com. 2 May 2018.
External links
- FIFA Confederations Cup, FIFA.com