The Argentina Vs Brazil match: A message for CONMEBOL on poor management?

The football business is one of the most complexes to run because of the many moving parts that go with it. Organisations like FIFA, UEFA, CAF, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL often take hundreds of workers and specialised management to run successfully. Under each of these organisations are other tens of national associations that come together to form the bigger whole. Thus, organising and harmonizing between all these associations brings its peculiar problems. 

CONMEBOL is the regional governing body for football in South America. With 10 member nations which include Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela; CONMEBOL is the regional association with the least number of members. However, it has been the one having scandal after scandal. Especially under the new President, Alejandro Dominguez, CONMEBOL has failed to address some of the many loopholes that have appeared within the organisation. 

In the past 3 years, CONMEBOL has had a number of issues that point to poor management and leadership within the body. Many of the incidences have been on the pitch whilst others have extended beyond the pitch. During the 2019 Copa America in Brazil, inconsistent and surprising officiating in the semi-final game between Brazil led to a foul-mouthed tirade from Lionel Messi. The 6-time Ballon d'Or winner accused the CONMEBOL of corruption and favouring some countries over others. Messi was fined and suspended but for only a short time. 

Also, ahead of the 2020 Copa America, there was a lot of movement in the host country before Brazil grudgingly accepted to host their 2nd Copa America in 2 years. From Columbia to Argentina and then finally Brazil, many of the CONMEBOL countries refused the right to host the continental competition. It was rumoured at a time that the tournament could be moved to Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. This, though not unprecedented, would have been a massive blow to the leadership of CONMEBOL if they could not find a willing partner to host the competition on South-American soil.

Finally, the events of Saturday 5th September also showed the level of mismanagement and disorganization within the CONMEBOL ranks. Being the regional governing body, the Alejandro Dominguez-led body should have taken the lead and resolved the issues before it got to the pitch. CONMEBOL should have liaised with the CBF and AFA to confirm the status of the players before going ahead with the match. CONMEBOL's failure to do this and other occurrences from the past show mismanagement and lack of coordination within the organisation for it.