Head of CONCACAF revels in success of Nations League, Gold Cup, Olympics
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
It’s good to be Victor Montagliani these days.
Since 2016, he's been the president of CONCACAF, the geographic region that encompasses North and Central America and the Caribbean. Over the past two months, Montagliani has overseen the conclusion of two successful international tournaments, the new Nations League and the customary Gold Cup, which wrapped Sunday with the United States topping rival Mexico in the final in front of 65,000 fans in Las Vegas.
Montagliani’s native Canada, a longtime also-ran in the men’s game, nearly upset El Tri in the Gold Cup semis and have a good shot at qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On Thursday, the Canadian women will play Sweden for the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
For more up-to-date news on all things Summer Olympics, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!
After a year and a half heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, things certainly are looking up. "It’s been difficult to bring sports back online," Montagliani (the g is silent) told FOX Sports on the eve of the Gold Cup decider.
"But I’m very proud of the work done by my team behind the doors. Our numbers, both from a TV standpoint and in the stands, are probably equivalent to our pre-pandemic numbers, which is phenomenal. And we’ve managed to keep everybody safe and enjoy the sport that we all love."
When the Nations League debuted in 2019, it was met with derision from fans and national federations who had gotten used to a quadrennial calendar that hadn’t changed since the 1990s. But the new tournament produced plenty of drama — such as Canada beating the USMNT for the first time in 32 years — even before the coronavirus crisis forced it, like the Olympics and European Championship, to be pushed back a year. June’s final produced an unforgettable match between the U.S. and Mexico, with the Americans winning on a Christian Pulisic penalty deep into extra time.
For more up-to-date news on all things Nations League, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!
"The Nations League is a generational change for CONCACAF," Montagliani said. "Now all 41 of our member countries are getting a significant minimum amount of games over a four-year period, and you’ve seen some surprising results other than Canada beating the U.S. Bermuda beating Panama in Panama. Montserrat, one of the smallest countries in the world, drawing against El Salvador. Those things never happened in this confederation’s 60-year existence."
The 2021 Gold Cup was the first for which all teams, even the traditional powers, had to qualify. It was the first to feature an actual draw. It’s all part of what Montagliani calls CONCACAF's "football first" philosophy. In the past, commercial considerations were often prioritized over sporting ones.
"Even though there was a U.S.-Mexico final, they could’ve easily met in the semis if they didn’t perform in the group stage," he said.
The continental championship was still compelling, even though it came on the heels of the Euros and the Copa America in Brazil and even though Chelsea star Pulisic, Canada/Bayern Munich fullback Alphonso Davies and several other headliners skipped the event.
"It didn’t really diminish the quality on the pitch," Montagliani said.
Perhaps the tournament’s only notable snag was the continued use of a homophobic chant by fans of Mexico’s squad. FIFA has already banned all fans from El Tri’s first two World Cup qualifiers as punishment for the same offense during Olympic qualifying in March.
"They need to wake up and realize that they’re only affecting their own team and their own players," Montagliani said, adding that the next step in FIFA’s anti-discrimination protocol would likely involve a forfeit. "This could escalate if this ignorance and stupidity continues to happen. The Mexican Federation has told these fans that if they want to chant, stay home. Do not come to the stadium. Take off your jersey. You’re not a fan of Mexico if you chant that."
Up next for CONCACAF, following its successful summer, is the business end of World Cup qualifying, an expanded version of which kicks off next month. COVID was the catalyst for increasing the field from the usual six participants to eight, but the Gold Cup performances of Canada, El Salvador and Jamaica — which all missed out on the final round four years ago — have proven them worthy entrants.
The region is becoming more competitive at lighting speed. Little Curaçao came within the width of a crossbar from making the Octagonal by beating Panama, which reached the 2018 World Cup in Russia at the Americans’ expense.
On the women’s side, Canada have the opportunity to become the first CONCACAF team other than the U.S., which they beat in the semis, to win Olympic gold. Nobody will be cheering harder than Montagliani, who headed the Canadian Soccer Association from 2012 to '16.
"I have a responsibility to govern 41 countries, and our vision is that that 41 is really one," he said. "But listen, at the end of the day, those are my girls. You can’t throw your heart out the window."
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
