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A report from ESPN Deportes has indicated that a Legends World Cup is in the works to be played in Mexico in the year 2017, as per Eurosport. It will be a semi-competitive tournament that could see representation from 12 nations for charity.
Every football fan has a twinge of regret about not seeing more of some of the modern legends of football in action live, but if the Legends World Cup is put in place, it could bring waves of joy to innumerable people who will eagerly anticipate confirmation of the event and the members participating in the same.
According to the ESPN report, players competing in the tournament will be between 35 to 45 years of age. They will play out 60 minutes of football with no limit on substitutions during this time period. While, not much is known so far about the same, more is likely to be confirmed come January 2016.
The Legends World Cup should be staged across three Mexican cities – Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City. The 12 nations participating in the competition will reportedly consist of 6 European sides, 4 from the Americas, and one each of African and Asian teams.
The European representatives are likely to be – England, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Netherlands. They will be joined by Brazil, Argentina, United States and hosts Mexico from the Americas and additionally South Africa and Japan will round off the number of participating countries to 12.
Legends who will participate
It being the Legends World Cup, several world class players are expected to feature such as Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf and Ruud Gullit with Johan Cryuff and Frank Rijkaard also expected to be involved in other capacities.
The German camp could see Michael Ballack feature with Lothar Matthaus also appearing in a coaching role. The likes of Juan Sebastian Veron and Gaizka Mendieta could feature for Argentina while the mesmerising Zinedine Zidane could line up for France.
The home side could also see their talismanic goalkeeper Jorge Campos in the side.
While there has been no confirmation so far from any quarter, something of this magnitude could see the footballing greats of the world unite for a good cause. The sense of awe surrounding the event will only be a side effect. Keeping your fingers crossed for this one till January might be the best course of action while we wait and watch but the wheels already seem to be in motion.
