This year in England, a fantastic new tournament featuring some of the greatest football players of all time will take place. There will be eight teams competing in a thrilling Over-35s World Cup that will take place.
The sides that enter the tournament will all be previous winners of the FIFA World Cup. England, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay are the teams set to take part in the new mega competition.
The tournament is set to begin on June 4, with the quarter-finals being played on the 4 and 5. Both semi-finals will take place on June 8 with the final scheduled on June 11. Although a location has not yet been chosen, rumors indicate that discussions have taken place with some of the top Northern Premier League clubs.
Some of the footballing legends of the above mentioned teams will take part in the tournament. The tournament is being organised by the Elite Players Group (EPG) and will be known as the EPG Cup.
Only players who are 35 years of age or older, have earned 100 top-flight appearances, and have received national team caps are eligible to compete in the tournament, according to the proposals put forth by the Elite Players Group. The 11-a-side games will go for seventy minutes. Teams may utilize their 18-man rosters as roll-on substitutes.
Players to look out for
Here are some of the legends that will play in the Over-35s World Cup:
England – Steve McManaman (C), Michael Owen, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, David James, Frank Lampard and Robbie Fowler.
Argentina – Esteban Cambiasso (C), Hernan Crespo and Pablo Zabaleta.
Brazil – Emerson (C), Kaka, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Cafu and Roberto Carlos.
France – Christian Karembeu (C), Thierry Henry and Marcel Desailly.
Germany – Kevin Kuranyi (C), Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira.
Italy – Marco Materazzi (C), Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti.
Spain – Michel Salgado (C), David Villa and Carlos Puyol.
Uruguay – Diego Lugano (C) and Diego Forlan.
