After last year’s World Cup finished, FIFA’s ebullient president Gianni Infantino unexpectedly floated a wish list of new competitions that would give his organisation a higher profile and more control. Without any consultation, Infantino created headlines with plans for an expanded Club World Cup, but what gained less attention was a proposal for a FIFA World Series of four-team friendly tournaments.
“We will now consult on all of these topics and then elaborate on all the details,” Infantino said at a news conference after the 37-member FIFA Council agreed on “strategic principles” for new competitions.
Details remain scarce. The World Series will be staged every March before major championships in even-numbered years and pit countries from different confederations against each other.
In the past, countries from different confederations have appeared as guests in other tournaments. CONMEBOL’s Copa America has comprised all ten of the confederation’s members plus two guests since1993, when Mexico and the USA took part. Mexico and Costa Rica – both
