Italy and Argentina will meet in June 2022 after UEFA and CONMEBOL agreed to organize a series of matches between the winners of the European Championship and Copa America.
Euro 2020 holder Italy, who ended a 53-year wait for the trophy by defeating England in July, will face Argentina, winner of the 2021 Copa America next year.
While a venue for the opening match has not yet been confirmed, there will also be further matches between the respective winners after the next two editions of each tournament.
A statement from the governing bodies said: “UEFA and CONMEBOL announced today the expansion of their existing cooperation and the staging of a match between UEFA Euro 2020 winning Italy and CONMEBOL Copa America 2021 winning Argentina. during the international window of June 2022 in a location to be confirmed.
“The organization of this match is part of the expansion of cooperation between UEFA and CONMEBOL, which includes in particular the categories of women’s football, futsal and youth, the exchange of referees and technical training programs.
“The agreement reached by the two organizations currently covers three editions of this match between their respective continental winners and provides for the opening of a joint office in London, which will have the task of coordinating projects of common interest.
“By reaching this agreement, UEFA and CONMEBOL express their commitment to the development of football outside their geographical areas, as a bridge that unites people, countries, continents and cultures.
“The UEFA Executive Committee and the CONMEBOL Council have also expressed a strong willingness to continue to cooperate on other issues of mutual interest in the future.”
# EURO2020 Italy winners will meet #CopaAmerica champions of Argentina in June 2022.
The match is part of the cooperation between UEFA and @CONMEBOL, which includes youth and women’s football, futsal, referee exchanges and technical training schemes.
The full story:
– UEFA (@UEFA) September 28, 2021
The deal means a strengthening of the working relationship between the organizations, both of which have openly opposed FIFA’s plans for a two-year World Cup.
With UEFA and CONMEBOL improving mutual relations, it could prove vital to reject the changes proposed by FIFA, which remain in the pipeline with their head of global development Arsene Wenger leading the charge.