The UEFA–CONMEBOL memorandum of understanding ()La CONMEBOL y la UEFA amplían el Memorando de Entendimiento on Conmebol, 15 December 2021 is an agreement between UEFA and CONMEBOL, the association football confederations of Europe and South America, respectively, signed between both parties with the aim of achieving close collaboration for the development of this sport in the regions. It was signed on 12 February 2020 and extended on 15 December 2021 in a first stage, and on 2 June 2022 in a second stage. This will permit creation of official championships in the branches of men's, women's, youth and indoor football and the possibility of exchanging referees in the tournaments organised by both entities.
In January 2022, CONMEBOL and UEFA authorities met at the CONMEBOL headquarters in Asunción, Paraguay, and ratified the agreements they had already signed for future competitions. Both parts also agreed to establish a joint office in London.
Mission and objectives The MoU seeks to provide assistance and support between both confederations to establish and implement projects and activities related to:CONMEBOL y UEFA renuevan Memorando de Entendimiento on AFA, 12 February 2020 the promotion and development of grassroots football, youth football and women's football the organisation of championships marketing, legal and social responsibility matters security; the promotion of ethical principles and good governance in football
Committees In order to move forward with the projects, 4 joint committees were created through the memorandum. The strategies of both confederations in the different committees are coordinated in a Joint Representation Office located in London, England, United Kingdom, inaugurated on 4 April 2022.
The committees are:
Refereeing As of the signing of the MoU, a referee exchange program was started, allowing referees and assistant referees appointed by their respective confederation to participate in matches in competitions organised by the other signatory party. Below is the list of referees appointed within the exchange program:
+Appointed referees in exchange program Organizing confederation Competition Appointed referee Role AssociationUEFA Euro 2020Fernando RapalliniReferee (CONMEBOL)Juan Pablo BelattiAssistant refereeDiego Yamil BonfáAssistant refereeUEFA Women's Euro 2022Emikar CalderasReferee (CONMEBOL)Migdalia Rodríguez ChirinoAssistant refereeMary Blanco BolívarAssistant referee (CONMEBOL) 2021 Copa AméricaJesús Gil ManzanoReferee (UEFA)Diego Barbero SevillaAssistant refereeÁngel Nevado RodríguezAssistant refereeRicardo de Burgos BengoetxeaVARJosé Luis Munuera MonteroVAR2022 South American U-20Women's ChampionshipMaria Sole Ferrieri CaputiReferee (UEFA)Giulia TempestilliAssistant refereeEliana Fernández GonzálezAssistant referee (UEFA)2022 Copa América FemeninaSandra BrazReferee (UEFA)Andreia Ferreira SouzaAssistant refereeRita Cabañero MompóAssistant referee (UEFA)2022 Copa Libertadores FemeninaMaria MarottaReferee (UEFA)Tiziana TrasciattiAssistant refereeSilvia Fernández PérezAssistant referee (UEFA) 2022 FinalissimaPiero MazaReferee (CONMEBOL)Christian SchiemannAssistant refereeClaudio RíosAssistant refereeJesús Gil Manzano4th official (UEFA)Alejandro Hernández HernándezVARJuan Martínez MunueraAVARTiago Lopes MartinsAVAR (UEFA)2022 UEFA-CONMEBOL Under-20 Intercontinental CupDerlis LópezReferee (CONMEBOL)Roberto CañeteAssistant refereeJosé VillagraAssistant refereeJosé Méndez4th official (CONMEBOL)Germán DelfinoVARMaximiliano Del YesoAVAR2022 Futsal FinalissimaHenry GutiérrezReferee (CONMEBOL)Ricardo MessaReferee (CONMEBOL)Gean TellesRefereeChristian EspínolaReferee (CONMEBOL)Jonhatan HerbasReferee (CONMEBOL)Mario EspichanReferee (CONMEBOL)Daniel RodríguezReferee (CONMEBOL)Yuri GarcíaReferee (CONMEBOL)Daniel ManriqueTimekeeperJosé VillarTimekeeper (CONMEBOL)
Women's football
The agreement provides a development strategy for this branch in all its member associations, as well as the creation of different competitions. The first women's football championship planned from the MoU is the UEFA-CONMEBOL Women's Finalissima, a tournament that emulates the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions in the women's branch.
Development and coaches
The purpose of this committee is to provide a joint project for the creation of: Elite young player development programs Scout Development Joint coaching licences: A mutual recognition of titles and coaching licences (for example, equivalence between UEFA Pro License and CONMEBOL PRO License) is planned for 2023.
Competitions The competitions created under the memorandum are the following ones: Finalissima: a quadrennial match featuring men's football champions of the UEFA Euro and the CONMEBOL Copa América. There were two editions prior to the signing of the MoU (1985 and 1993). Its relaunch was made official on 28 September 2021, agreeing to organise three new editions. The first of them was held on 1 June 2022 at Wembley Stadium, under the name of Finalissima. Under-20 Intercontinental Cup: a biennial match featuring men's football champions of the UEFA Youth League and the U-20 Copa Libertadores. Its first edition was held on 21 August 2022 at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo. Futsal Finalissima: a quadrennial match featuring men's futsal champions and runners-up of the UEFA Futsal Championship and the Copa América de Futsal. The first edition was held from 15 to 18 September 2022 at the Movistar Arena Stadium in Buenos Aires. UEFA–CONMEBOL Women's Finalissima: a quadrennial match featuring women's football champions of the UEFA Women's Euro and the Women's Conmebol Copa América. The first edition was played on FIFA Women's International Matchweek of February 2023 in Europe. UEFA–CONMEBOL Club Challenge: an annual match featuring men's football champions of the CONMEBOL and UEFA's second-tier competitions the UEFA Europa League and CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Its first edition was held on 19 July 2023 at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville.
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