Over-35s World Cup: Everything you need to know

Some of the biggest superstars will take the field

The Daily Mail claims that a brand-new over-35s World Cup competition will take place in England this summer. The Elite Players Group (EPG), a group of elite former football players and sports entrepreneurs, is organising the competition, which it will call the EPG Cup.

Every team that has won the FIFA World Cup since it began in 1930 will compete in eight teams: England, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Uruguay. The seven matches that make up the event will all take place at the same stadium at the beginning of June. Although the stadium for the competition is still unclear at the time of writing, discussions are rumoured to have taken place with several northern clubs.

Over-35s World Cup: Format

Teams can deploy roll-on substitutions to make use of their 18-man rosters during the 70-minute, 11-a-side games. June 4 and June 5 are the dates for the quarterfinals; June 8 is the day for both semi-finals, and June 11 is the date for the final.

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Who will be participating in

Fransesco Totti, Thierry Henry, and Ronaldinho will participate. Participants will only be players who are 35 or older, have earned 100 appearances in the highest division, and have received caps for their nation. A huge number of football luminaries are expected to compete, according to the Daily Mail’s circulation of the provisional squads.

The EPG was founded by the commanders of each nation. It is anticipated that Steve McManaman will captain England, Esteban Cambiasso will captain Argentina, and Emerson will captain Brazil. The other captains are Diego Lugano (Uruguay), Marco Materazzi (Italy), Michel Salgado (Spain), Christian Karembeu (France), and Kevin Kuranyi (Germany).

It’s anticipated that England will field a team made up of several Premier League icons. Michael Owen, the 2001 Ballon d’Or winner, will play for the Three Lions. Other players who may have recently been called up include Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, David James, Frank Lampard, and Robbie Fowler.

The team to beat can very well be Brazil. Three past Ballon d’Or winners, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Cafu and Roberto Carlos, are anticipated to be on their team. Perhaps the most influential player in Premier League history, Thierry Henry, along with former AC Milan and Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly, are likely to play for France.

While Mesut Ozil—who turned 35 last year and announced his retirement from football—and fellow 2014 World Cup champion Sami Khedira are expected to appear for Germany, Hernan Crespo and Pablo Zabaleta may play for Argentina.

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