Following a memorandum of understanding signed in 2020 between the European football and South American football governing bodies, the champions of the Euro 2020 and Copa America 2020 tournaments will play each other in London on June 1 2022.
The match, nicknamed FINALISSIMA, will act as an intercontinental super cup and is the first step in a renewed partnership between UEFA and CONMEBOL to improve the quality of football on both continents.
It will not be the first time that a game like this has been played between both continental champions. The Artemio Franchi Trophy was contested between the 1985 and 1993 winners of both tournaments. The tournament eventually grew into the FIFA Confederations Cup, which FIFA discontinued in 2019.
Fast-forward to February 12 2020 and history repeats itself with UEFA and CONMBEOL signing a renewed memorandum of understanding.
The Finalissima was decided upon by both governing bodies on September 28 2021 and will take place after the next three editions of both the Euros and the Copa America.
The confederations then met on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, to sign an extension to their memorandum of understanding where they also decided upon the June 1 2022 date for the first of the three editions of the intercontinental cup.
The new memorandum of understanding extends their agreement until June 30, 2028. An office will be opened in London to further relations between both governing bodies.
The stadium venue for the first Finalissima has yet to be confirmed, but Sky Sports reports that Wembley could be playing host to the champions of Europe and South America.
Speaking at the announcement of the Finalissima, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: “It is with great pride that we are relaunching such a prestigious national team trophy.
“There is a long tradition of co-operation between Uefa and Conmebol, as could be witnessed over the years with competitions such as the Artemio Franchi Trophy and the Intercontinental Cup.”
Argentina won the Copa America after beating the host nation Brazil to seal a first title in 28 years, while Italy beat England in Wembley, the proposed venue for the Finalissima.
UEFA still opposing the FIFA World Cup expansion plans
The Finalissima and the MOU between UEFA and CONMEBOL come after both continental governing bodies opposed FIFA’s idea of a biennial World Cup earlier in the year due to the strain it will put on the current international calendar.
FIFA will hold a global summit next week Monday with its 211 member nations to table its full plans for the biennial World Cup but reports have claimed that Aleksander Ceferin and UEFA are still opposing the idea strongly.
“As much as we know FIFA is still pursuing the project,” Cerin said to a news conference. “Then there are some signals are coming from different sides that they might not pursue it till the end.
“We don’t have a particular strategy. For Monday, it will be 211 federations, that means 500 people at the videoconference. I don’t expect something very deep.”
“But we will listen and we’ll see and we’ll act accordingly. But for now, we don’t even have the agenda for Monday. The only thing we know is that it’s called ‘Future of Football’, which can mean a lot and can mean nothing.”
