A new over-35s World Cup competition is set to be held in England this summer, according to the Daily Mail. The tournament, which is being organised by the Elite Players Group (EPG), comprised of top-level former footballers and sports businessmen, will be known as the EPG Cup.
It will be an eight-team competition featuring every side that have won the FIFA World Cup since its inception in 1930: England, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay. The tournament is set to consist of seven matches, all of which will take place in the same stadium at the start of June. It is unknown at the time of writing which stadium will host the competition but talks are understood to have taken place with several northern clubs.
The games will be 11-a-side and last 70 minutes, with teams being able to use roll-on substitutes to utilise their 18-man squads. The quarter-finals are scheduled to be played on June 4 and June 5, with both semi-finals on June 8 before the final on June 11.
Only players that are aged 35 or over and have been capped by their country or made 100 top-flight appearances will be allowed to take part. The provisional squads have been circulated to the Daily Mail and so many football legends are set to take part.
The captains of each country are founders of the EPG. Steve McManaman is expected to captain England, while Esteban Cambiasso is set to lead Argentina and Emerson is expected to skipper Brazil. The other captains are Christian Karembeu (France), Kevin Kuranyi (Germany), Marco Materazzi (Italy), Michel Salgado (Spain) and Diego Lugano (Uruguay).
England are expected to field a side consisting of multiple Premier League legends. 2001 Ballon d’Or winner Michael Owen is set to turn out for the Three Lions, while it’s believed Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, David James, Frank Lampard and Robbie Fowler have also already been enlisted.
Brazil could well be the team to beat. Their team is expected to feature three former Ballon d’Or winners – Kaka, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho – as well as Cafu and Roberto Carlos. Thierry Henry – arguably the greatest player in Premier League history, is expected to turn out for France, as is former AC Milan and Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly.
Hernan Crespo and Pablo Zabaleta could turn out for Argentina, while Mesut Ozil, who only turned 35 years old last year and retired from football last year, is set to represent Germany, as well as fellow 2014 World Cup winner Sami Khedira.
Spain are expected to be one of the biggest contenders and one of the best goalscorers of his generation, David Villa, is expected to feature, as is Barcelona legend and three-time Champions League winner Carles Puyol. Elsewhere, Roma legend Francesco Totti and 2006 Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro are down to play for Italy, while ex-Manchester United, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan is listed for Uruguay.