The UEFA Executive Committee and the CONMEBOL Council today met at the House of European Football in Nyon and signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to replace the agreement that was signed in 2012. This new MoU forms the basis for an enhanced collaboration in a variety of domains to foster the development and growth of football on both continents. The MoU aims to provide assistance and support between UEFA and CONMEBOL and their respective member associations in establishing and implementing projects and activities relating to:
•Education, training, technical development and refereeing
•Promotion and development of grassroots, youth and women's football
•Organisation of men's, women's and youth football competitions, as well as futsal
•Marketing, legal and social responsibility matters
•Safety and security
•Promotion of ethical and good governance principles in football
In order to advance cooperation on such projects, both governing bodies decided to create four joint committees to specifically focus on the following matters: competitions, development, women’s football and refereeing. Ad hoc commissions could also be formed to discuss other areas of cooperation when necessary.
Refereeing
UEFA and CONMEBOL agreed to implement a referee exchange programme under which match officials from both organisations will be appointed to oversee international matches on each other's continent with a view to providing further experience for referees. This exchange programme could possibly see a team of UEFA match officials appointed for the group stage of the Copa America and a team of CONMEBOL match officials appointed for the group stage of UEFA Euro 2020. In addition, there will also be similar exchanges between the UEFA Champions League/Copa Libertadores and the UEFA Europa League/Copa Sudamericana.
Intercontinental matches
The possibility of staging European/South American intercontinental matches, for both women's and men's football and across a variety of age groups, was discussed and will be further examined by a joint UEFA/CONMEBOL committee in the coming months.
Source: UEFA
