Only three spots remain as clubs fight for their place in the most prestigious club world championship and the honour of wearing the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010 badge.
The next round of the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010 qualifiers will be in South America with the first leg of the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores Championship beginning this week.
The Copa Libertadores is the second largest continental club football competition in the world after the UEFA Champions League – in previous years, South American football clubs have won the FIFA Club World Cup (FCWC) and this year two previous winners hope to make a comeback and reclaim the title.
The 2005 FIFA Club World Cup champions Sao Paulo lines up against the 2006 FCWC title-holders and fellow Brazilian rival SC Internacional, in the first semi-final on July 27th. Sao Paulo has just announced the signing of striker Fernando Lucio da Costa – the former SC Internacional skipper who led the team to victory in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup. Despite the outcome of this match, Brazilian football fans are guaranteed a place in the final.
In the second semi-final, Universidad de Chile takes on Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara on July 28th. The second-leg of the semi-finals will take place the week of August 4. Chivas de Guadalajara will be without its young World Cup star, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who signed with English Premier League Club Manchester United, to become their first ever Mexican signing.
In late August CONMEBOL will find out which of these teams will represent the confederation at this prestigious event – which has seen football giants AC Milan (2007), Manchester United (2008) and Barcelona (2009) all lift the coveted trophy.
John Lickrish, General Manager for the Local Organising Committee of the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010, said since the end of the World Cup attention was now on Abu Dhabi and the club championship.
“It’s great to see past FIFA Club World Cup champions competing in these semi-finals. We are now looking forward to finding out which of these teams will represent South America in Abu Dhabi.”
He also pinpointed South America had produced some of the world’s greatest players, including the current FIFA World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi and Ricardo Kaka – who began his professional football career with Sao Paulo in 1994 at the age of 15.
“CONMEBOL continues to develop champion footballers and we could potentially be hosting one of the world’s future stars at the FIFA Club World Cup,” Mr Lickrish said.
Only three of these teams will be able to represent CONMEBOL in Abu Dhabi. Mexican teams, though invitees to the Copa Libertadores, fall under the CONCACAF Confederation and CF Pachuca has already booked its place in this year’s FCWC. If the Mexican team does win the South American champions league, the losing finalist will represent CONMEBOL in Abu Dhabi.
The FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010 brings together the club champions from six continental confederations: Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania, as well as the winning team from the host city’s national league. From December 8th-18th the teams will compete to be crowned club world cup champions over 10 days of action at Zayed Sports City and Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
Four teams have already qualified for this year’s event, including UEFA Champions Inter Milan who was the last team to qualify back in May. The other clubs that have booked their place in the tournament are as follows: Oceania Champions League winners, Hekari United, a semi-professional team from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea; Al Wahda, the UAE Pro League champions, who will gather most of the local support as the home team heads into this tournament, representing the Emirates; Mexican club, CF Pachuca, will make its third appearance at a club world cup after claiming the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions League against fellow compatriots Cruz Azul in April 2010.
The Asian Football Confederation quarter-finals will be held in September and the final determined in November. Africa will also find out its representative in November.
