November 14 – Speaking at the opening session of the Soccerex Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Concacaf general secretary Philippe Moggio said his confederation has been transformed in recent years, and that looking to the future of the game in his region “the sky is the limit” for stakeholders.
Moggio was one of the first appointments of Concacaf president Victor Montagliani when he came to power in 2016 following the trauma of the Fifagate scandals of 2025.
With a frequently emphasised focus on unifying the confederation and putting the sport first, Montagliani and Moggio have quietly but forcefully reinvented their operations based foremost around a more robust competition structure.
“We have increased qualification and playing opportunities for our members – more games to compete in with the Nations League and for clubs in the expanded Champions Cup,” said Moggio.
“We are working with our member nations to build facilities and capacity. There is a lack of infrastructure in many countries. We are centralising a lot of competition to make sure that games can be played.”
While the confederation has been reinventing itself, it has also landed the joint hosting of the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026 – to be shared across the US, Mexico and Canada.
Asked what Concacaf would look like post-2026 World Cup hosting by former US men’s team star turned TV presenter and pundit Alexi Lailas, Moggio again emphasised that the key component of their future is the competition structure.
“It is about building on our competition cycle,” he said. “In 2025 we have the Gold Cup that is now at 16 teams providing a better competition and engagement throughout the confederation, playing in the best facilities in almost sold-out stadia. 2025 will see us build for the future.
“We are working with stakeholders to make sure leagues and clubs are developing, we are expanding our club competitions,” he continued.
“The Champions Cup is gaining traction across the region and into its second season in its new format. It is capturing the whole region and the fans in all our leagues.
Asked if this is too much soccer, Moggio’s response was immediate.
“Absolutely not. Most players do not get enough top level competition.”
At the heart of the question is a very busy summer in the US in 2025, which will see Concacaf’s Gold Cup predominantly hosted on the west coast at the same time that FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup will be focussed on the east coast.
Moggio doesn’t see a problem with the scheduling and it does play to the overriding feeling that this is a very special time for football in this region.
If 2022 was the culmination of a growth of the game and its international profile for the Asian Football Confederation’s Arab nations, so 2026 is providing the opportunity for Concacaf.
“This is the only place in the world where you can have competitions of this scale in the same country at the same time… Both will be a big success,” said Moggio.
Lailas pointed out that the US increasingly has the appearance of being the latest ATM for soccer.
Moggio didn’t necessarily see this as a problem. Acknowledging the growth expectation in the US, he said participation in the game will continue to grow in their region.
“For stakeholders it is a tremendous opportunity,” he said. “The sky is the limit.”
The danger? With the rest of the world playing in the US, isolation.
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