September 10, 2022
The brief from today:
Trio of countries consider World Cup 2030 bid
With the 2022 World Cup in Qatar just around the corner, and the 2026 edition already confirmed to take place in Mexico, Canada, and the US, bids are now being put together by countries interested in hosting the 2030 World Cup. As with the 2026 edition, many of the early contenders for the 2030 World Cup are also joint bids. CONMEBOL—South America’s football association—had four of its members: Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Paraguay announce last month that they intend to bid as a collective to host the tournament. So while the notion of multiple hosts isn’t a novel concept, the latest proposal being worked on by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Greece is. The three nations have confirmed that they are doing their due diligence and working on a joint bid to host football’s biggest tournament. Were this to go through, it would be the first time multiple countries from different continental confederations hosted the same competition. With Egypt being a CAF (Africa) member, Saudi Arabia an AFC (Asia) nation, and Greece part of UEFA (Europe), it would certainly be a fresh approach that hasn’t been accomplished thus far. Similar to Qatar this year, the bid from these three countries would be to host the competition during the winter months due to the summer heat in Saudi Arabia. How successfully the 2022 World Cup plays out, considering it’s the first to be held mid-season, will surely impact the Egyptian, Saudi Arabian, and Greek proposal. While the plans are still in the exploratory phase, and haven't been officially presented like the CONMEBOL bid, it is certainly a situation to monitor.
Various countries are already vying for hosting rights of the 2030 World Cup
Brighton assessing coaching options
Following a whirlwind 48 hours this week, which saw Chelsea sack manager, Thomas Tuchel, and then promptly pay a £20 million release clause to Brighton to poach their manager, Graham Potter, the south coast side suddenly found themselves without a coach six rounds into the season. Despite the sudden nature of events, however, Brighton have built a reputation as a club that have a solid infrastructure which is always planning for the long-term. An example of this is seen with their player recruitment. Quite frequently, Brighton will sign players, who are somewhat unknown quantities, develop them into top talents, sell them to bigger clubs, and already have their replacements in place either before, or immediately after, the sale. Their approach to Potter’s departure is also showing similar signs of preparedness as they have now commenced negotiations with Italian coach Roberto De Zerbi. Many in England wouldn’t have expected this as an option, or even known who De Zerbi is, but to Serie A followers, it will come as no surprise. De Zerbi is seen as one of the brightest young coaches in Italy after his spells at Palermo, Benevento, and Sassuolo. The time he spent at Sassuolo from 2018-2021 is where his reputation really blossomed, with his teams playing a very attractive possession-based and attacking style that drew many admirers. Sassuolo, essentially a provincial side, would still manage to finish eighth two seasons in a row under De Zerbi almost qualifying for the UEFA Conference League once. Following his departure from Sassuolo in 2021, De Zerbi took the job at Shakhtar Donetsk with the hopes of competing in European competition. While his time there began well with a Ukrainian Super Cup victory, it ended pretty abruptly earlier this summer following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. De Zerbi, along with many others at the club, terminated his contract due to the lack of safety resulting from the war. Serie A side, Bologna, was looking to fill their coaching vacancy this past week after their sacking of Sinisa Mihajlovic, and they tapped up De Zerbi for the role. Due to his personal relationship with Mihajlovic, and the fact that the former Bologna coach has been battling health issues, De Zerbi declined Bologna’s advances. De Zerbi’s altruism meant he was still a free agent, and Brighton have now used this to their advantage. The 43-year-old’s style of coaching is very similar to Potter’s so it makes sense that Brighton have earmarked him to join them. The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth has also resulted in Premier League matches for this weekend being postponed, which grants Brighton more flexibility to resolve the vacancy issue. If they do indeed move forward with De Zerbi, then the Italian will also have more of a window to work with the squad and instill his ideas before the first match. Considering the similarities with Potter, however, the transition could potentially be seamless.
De Zerbi is being lined up to fill the coaching vacancy at Brighton