The Asian Football Confederation yesterday asked FIFA to change the proposed date for the Confederation Cup slated to be held in Brazil from 16–30 June 2013 as it clash with Asian Confederation’s 2014 World Cup Qualifier.
June 18, 2013, has earlier been declared by FIFA as an Official Match Date and so it has already been applied to respective Competition Calendars of different Confederations including AFC. The match to be played on June 18, 2013 is a crucial fourth round match and is a home stretch for teams looking to book their places in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
“We request the FIFA Confederations Cup – Brazil 2013 to be scheduled in another period of time that does not clash with the FIFA Official Match Dates already confirmed by FIFA and applied to respective Competition Calendars of different Confederations including AFC,” AFC wrote in a letter to FIFA according to their official Website.
Confederation Cup which earlier was not considered very importance is gaining prominence and is hosted by the country supposed to host the World Cup a year before they actually host the World Cup. It was seen more as a check-up of the infrastructure of the host country than an important football event. But things have now changed drastically and having a team well prepared for the Confederations Cup 2013 is a large step towards having the team prepared to win the World Cup 2014.
Eight teams in all will participate in the Confederation Cup which will include the host country Brazil and World Cup Champion Spain. The remaining six teams, who will represent their respective continents, will be the Champions of their respective Continental Cup. So far Japan has booked their place being the Champions of the Asia while remaining five continents are yet to play their continental championship.
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