Thirteen federations of nations competing at this year’s men’s World Cup have said they deserve “respect” and they reject UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin’s recent criticism of the new 48-team format.A statement released on Sunday expressed the “profound disappointment” of the federations over the comments of Ceferin, in which he said the tournament’s expansion from 32 teams to 48 makes for “completely uninteresting” matches, in quotes published by Slovenian outlet Delo.The statement was signed by the federations of Cape Verde, Curacao, Uzbekistan, DR Congo and Haiti, “in solidarity with” Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast and South Africa.The joint statement said that “for our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match”, and that Ceferin’s suggestions of their matches being less important are “deeply disappointing and fail to recognize the efforts, sacrifices and aspirations of players, coaches, clubs, football leaders and supporters across the world”.
It added that “every nation that qualifies deserves respect” and that the federations “reject the UEFA president’s comments”.“For Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan, qualification for the FIFA World Cup represents a historic achievement and the realization of a dream shared by generations,” it said.“For nations such as Congo and Haiti, returning to football’s biggest stage after a long absence carries a special meaning for millions of supporters who have waited years, and in some cases decades, for this moment.“Behind every qualification stand years of work and investment. Behind every national team stand entire communities and millions of people who see football as a source of pride, hope and unity.”
