Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has been criticised by 13 nations competing at the World Cup after reportedly describing some matches in the expanded tournament as “completely uninteresting”.
A joint statement issued on Sunday by the football associations of Cape Verde, Curacao, Uzbekistan, DR Congo, Haiti, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast and South Africa expressed “profound disappointment” at the comments.
Ceferin, according to reports from a Slovenian news outlet, made the remarks at a conference in Ljubljana, suggesting the expansion from 32 to 48 teams could reduce the quality of some fixtures, while also noting it allowed more nations to participate.
“We respectfully but firmly reject these comments,” the statement said.
“For our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match.”
It added that qualification for the tournament represented a “historic achievement” and a moment of national pride for countries returning to the global stage or appearing for the first time.
“For nations such as Congo and Haiti, returning to football’s biggest stage after a long absence carries a special meaning for millions of supporters,” the statement said.
The signatories said every team had “earned its place on merit” and rejected any suggestion that matches were less meaningful.
“Football does not belong to a select group of nations. Its strength comes from its universality,” the statement added.
The World Cup expanded from 32 to 48 teams for the first time in this edition, the biggest change to the format since 1998.