Moving football, even if it means uprooting it, is one of the goals of its economic players.

“Israeli Copa America” ​​isn’t some random AI-generated hoax, but now it’s a possibility. On Thursday, April 11, the Israel Football Federation (IFA) signed an agreement with CONMEBOL, the South American confederation, which could be a prelude to the participation of its national team in the competition.

This is equivalent to our Euro… In the qualifying stage, in which Israel participates, because its federation belongs to the European Confederation, the third-placed team in the UEFA group did not qualify for the 2024 edition after the play-offs.

In the midst of a war between the Jewish state and the Palestinian movement Hamas, such an agreement seems preposterous and indicative of the extreme “geopoliticization” of sports in recent years. International relations are projected in the world of football, even if it seems like a parallel world, when the president of CONMEBOL says that this sport “Connects cultures regardless of geographical distance and can promote peace”.

new continents

Common sense is as disturbed as geography by the increasing “deterritorialization” of contests. Since 1993, the Copa America has invited a selection of two to four members from the CONCACAF confederations of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Japan (1999 and 2019) and Qatar (2019) participated. This year, it will be held for the second time in the United States, next June and July.

South American football wants to shine beyond its territory in the North American diaspora and in markets richer than its own, but therefore far beyond. When optimizing broadcasting rights. However, these commercial and media goals are mainly pursued by Europeans, whose clubs organize lucrative summer tours to the new continents conquered by the king of sports: Asia, North America and the Middle East.

This desire to expand was also reflected in the organization of “Super Cups” abroad, which pit the winners of the championship and the national cup against each other. Saudi Arabia hosted the Spanish and Italian versions this season, while the French traveled to Canada, Morocco, Tunisia, the United States, China or… Israel in 2021 and 2022.

And the Spanish and English leagues want to organize their championship matches in the United States or Asia – there was also talk of Monaco-Olympic Lyon in China two years ago. They are inspired by the North American basketball leagues (NBA) or American football (NFL), which move certain matches to Europe.