Copa v Euro challenge this year?

NEW YORK • South American football's governing body Conmebol has proposed a one-off match between the winners of the Copa America Centenario and Euro 2016 later this year, officials confirmed on Friday.

Its president Alejandro Dominguez told reporters at a press conference that an invitation to Uefa had been made to stage the inter-continental showdown.

"We have challenged Uefa to play one game this year, bringing together the winners of the Copa America Centenario and the winners of the Euro 2016," he said.

"We are waiting for that answer. They are studying our offer."

No date for the possible match was given.

The match would be staged as part of events to mark the Copa America's centenary, officials said.

This year's special edition of the Copa America - which brought together teams from South America (Conmebol) and North, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) - was held in the United States for the first time.

Officials said last Friday the event has proven to be a resounding success, averaging record attendances of more than 46,000 fans per game while being seen on television in 1.5 billion households around the world.

The final between Chile and Argentina today at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is an 81,000-ticket sellout.

The organisers of the tournament also said that they are open to staging a joint tournament featuring teams from North and South America every four years.

However, such possibility has yet to be discussed in detail by the two football federations.

Asked whether he thought a joint Copa America would be a good idea, Dominguez said no idea was off the table.

"We will always continue to hear all proposals and ideas that there may be," he said.

"All ideas will be taken into consideration."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on June 26, 2016, with the headline Copa v Euro challenge this year?. Subscribe