The Nations League that could break FIFA

What's being proposed

The Guardian reports that UEFA and CONCACAF have entered formal discussions about a combined Nations League tournament, one that would span Europe, North and Central America, and the Caribbean. All 96 member nations from the two confederations would be involved. The 2028 timeline, if it holds, would put the first edition of the competition in place before the end of the decade.

Key details, format, scheduling, how the commercial structure would work, are not yet confirmed, and no other outlet has corroborated the report. But two of the most powerful confederations in world football are building something outside FIFA's tent.

The politics behind it

According to The Guardian, the talks are directly tied to a push by both confederations to challenge FIFA's authority and seek the removal of Gianni Infantino. A joint UEFA-CONCACAF Nations League would give the two bodies a major international tournament they control, with its own calendar windows, its own broadcast deals, and its own revenue streams. FIFA's grip on the international schedule has always been its most powerful lever. A rival competition with 96 nations behind it pulls hard on that lever.

UEFA has form here. The Nations League itself was partly a response to frustration with FIFA's control over friendlies and the international calendar. A joint venture with CONCACAF would be a larger version of the same logic: build something valuable enough that you do not need FIFA's permission to run it.

How seriously should we take this?

The Guardian is a credible outlet and this reads as a genuine report rather than speculation, but the absence of corroboration from other sources means caution is warranted. Talks are talks. The gap between discussing a 96-nation tournament and actually staging one involves broadcast negotiations, fixture calendar agreements, and the cooperation of leagues that are already resistant to international windows eating into their seasons.

Still, the 2028 date is specific. And the political context, with tensions between UEFA, CONCACAF and FIFA already running high in the post-World Cup period, makes this the most concrete challenge to FIFA's authority over the international calendar in years.