Africa’s team of the year for 2019 was recently announced, and it is stacked. Every player in the starting XI plays for an elite club in Europe, including the current Premier League player of the year Sadio Mane, and two more players that also finished in the Ballon d’Or top 10 in votes (Riyad Mahrez and Mo Salah). To my knowledge, there is no team of the year in other continents, but it made me wonder how entertaining a competition between the best of each continent would be.
This is rather hypocritical that I’m proposing another competition when my last blog post was about how soccer players already play too many games, but hey, it’s not like my ideas are actually ever going to happen, right? And if they do happen, I think I deserve a commission for bringing the ideas to life. Anyway, this would be a fresh and unique competition that would feature athletes playing together that normally wouldn’t.
The Teams
Europe would obviously be stacked - between Europe’s top 5 leagues, and even the middle-tier leagues like in Portugal and Holland, it would be incredibly difficult to name a 23-man squad. The challenge that comes with picking only a select group is a good problem to have, I suppose. I would imagine the second-most talented team would be South America - Messi aside, there are 6 or 7 different countries that could each contribute to the squad, most of whom play in Europe’s elite leagues. While the starting XI for Africa is very talented, they may struggle with depth in a 23-man team. North America and Asia have ample talent but that likely doesn’t compare to the likes of the previous three continents mentioned. While I understand Australia competes in the Asian federation (AFC), it would make the most sense to include them as their own continent in this competition, combined with New Zealand and the nearby ocean islands.
The Format
Since players are already forced with playing so many games, I would propose this happens at the end of each decade, ideally in the summer (Summer 2019, 2029, 2039, etc.). This would be hosted in a single country (or continent, maybe, like the upcoming Euros, or the 2026 World Cup in 3 North American countries).
The champion of the tournament would end up playing a total of 4 games - 2 group stage games, a semi-final, and the final. There would be two groups, each with three teams. For the most balanced results possible, Group A would feature Europe, North America, and Asia, while Group B features South America, Africa, and Australia/Oceania. The winner of Group A would play the runner-up of Group B for a spot in the final, and vice versa.
The Reception
How would fans react to a tournament like this? Would they be interested? There would be fans of rival countries that would end up coming together in mutual support. Americans and Mexicans, Brazilians and Argentineans, Spaniards and Portuguese, etc. would all be cheering for the same team instead of rooting against each other like they are used to.
What would the jerseys look like? Would fan wave flags of their home countries?
This tournament will very likely never happen, unfortunately. I saw the African team of the year and wondered what it would be like if the group of players ever actually played together. Can someone please create a FIFA tournament with these 6 teams, simulate every game, and tell me what the results are?
Author: Living in Southern California, Robert Sweeney has been a fan of soccer since he played as a young child. Since then, he’s become a diehard Tottenham and US National Team fan. Rob enjoys writing about the impact soccer has had on his life in hopes that it betters others as well. Twitter: @robsweeney11