Changes coming in CONCACAF 2022 World Cup qualifications
Due to the coronavirus pandemic many football leagues around the globe have been postponed and this will force entities to make changes in WC qualifications.
While the majority of countries around the world are trying to stop the spread of the coronavirus that has taken the lives of thousands of people, footballing entities are working on designing a plan to reschedule the competitions that were postponed and the future live sports events that have to be rescheduled.
Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said on Monday that because of the outbreak they will have to change the format for the 2022 World Cup qualifications in the area. Currently it is split into two separate formats.
This is how the system works in Concacaf
The first six countries with the highest FIFA rankings in June, will compete in a home-and-away double round robin format that we know as the Hex. For teams 7-35, they would compete in their own World Cup qualifying, with the winner of that qualifying round facing off against the 4th place team in the Hex for the right to compete in the inter-confederation playoff in March 2022. That would require CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying to be completed by November 2021.
So now Concacaf will have to find a way to adjust the current format and include the Gold Cup qualifiers, completing the Nations League playoffs and ensuring that each of the 35 eligible teams from the area have an equal opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.
Montagliani said that decisions about the international calendar will largely be driven by how matters proceed with domestic leagues, with those leagues needing to open up before any international matches can be played. Travel considerations will also be a factor.
”You need to look at it through that lens of what is realistic in terms of allowing 40 people to jump on some form of transportation to go across an international border to play a football match,” he said.
At first game will be played behind closed doors
According to the Washington Post Montagliani will order that during the first couple of weeks/months the games will be played behind closed doors in order to stop the virus from spreading or coming back.
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Also there will be no FIFA windows in September and it will take a minimum of 6 months before international soccer returns. Montagliani is prioritizing the health of fans and players, “we all want to start tomorrow, but the reality is we need to be prudent here and understand the most important thing is the health of everyone. We need to be realistic in terms of when football can return and it will only come back when the health authorities say we can.”
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