The Confederations Cup: a strange tournament now relegated to history

We all forget things. For you, that might be leaving the key in the door. For football's governing bodies, it could be the physical and mental well-being of its players. For me, it's the Confederations Cup.

Next year is the year of the World Cup - and if it's already the year of the World Cup when you're reading this, where have you been? – and that can only mean one thing. Except this year, that's not the case. The decision not to stage a Confederations Cup in 2021 was not taken out of the kindness of FIFA's heart to reduce the workload for players after 18 tireless months in football in the COVID era. It was a decision made before places like Wuhan and Barnard Castle became household names.

In 2019, FIFA relegated the Confederations Cup to history, replacing it with an expanded 24-team Club World Cup, which would take place in the summer (winter for you southern hemispheres) before a World Cup. Or in the case of Qatar, the summer before the summer before a World Cup. Of course, a 24-team Club World Cup – which was canceled in 2021 to make way for Euro 2020, the Copa America and so on – wasn't what most of us would have. could ask. And no, it wasn't Arsène Wenger's idea.

All of that leaves the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, which wasn't a particularly memorable affair, but for the rather tedious introduction of VAR to the world stage in quotes, as the final edition of a tournament that started 25 years earlier.< /p>

Saudi Arabia was the first host. And the second. And the third. For the first two editions, the competition was not under the jurisdiction of FIFA at all, but referred to as the King Fahd Cup in honor of the occupant of the throne of Saudi Arabia at the time. His Royal Highness was kind enough to invite the South American champions, Argentina, the United States, the North American champions, and the Ivory Coast, the African champions, to compete in the sides of his own country. Denmark, newly crowned European champions, did not participate in the October 1992 games. The winners of the Oceania title did not compete until 1997.

Argentina were, surprise, surprise, the first winners of the tournament, daring to beat Saudi Arabia 3-1 in the final at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, with a goal from Diego Simeone sealing the victory. Gabriel Batistuta also started up front and Fernando Redondo was named Player of the Tournament. At least 70,000 people attended matches involving Saudi Arabia. The other two games drew crowds of 15,000 or less to the same stadium.

The King Fahd Cup was not such a resounding success on home soil when it was held three years later. This time it was a January event and this time the crowds did not flock to King Fahd Stadium. Matches involving Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, Japan, Saudi Arabia and, finally, Denmark, were played in front of decent spectators, but nowhere near the capacity of the first edition.

In 1997, FIFA had seen enough behind the scenes. They rather liked King Fahd's idea of ​​gathering the reigning world champions in one place. The concept of the best collision of continents was first introduced at the highest level in 1985, when UEFA and CONMEBOL pitted their respective champions against each other in honor of former UEFA President Artemio Franchi, killed in a car accident two years earlier. Michel Platini captain...