UEFA will escalate their battle with FIFA for control of the international calendar by endorsing a new tournament that would compete for attention with the Club World Cup next year.
European football’s governing body are in advanced talks about backing a new Champions League-style competition that is the brainchild of American promoters Relevent Sports.
The tournament would essentially be an expansion of the International Champions Cup, a pre-season competition for Europe’s top clubs that has been run by Relevent since 2013.
But UEFA’s endorsement would transform a series of exhibition games into a major tournament and present a threat to FIFA’s plans for a revamped Club World Cup contested by 24 sides.