Italy’s repechage to World Cup: just missed Fedez, embarrassment among fans
Those who continue to believe in a possible repechage of Italy for the next World Cup include Paolo Zampolli, U.S. Special Representative for Global Partnerships and envoy of President Donald Trump. In recent weeks he has repeatedly proposed the Italian national team’s candidacy and now he is back to press the issue.
During an interview with Pulp Podcast, a program hosted by Fedez and Mr. Marra, Zampolli said, “I’m Italian and I’m a Azzurri fan! I submitted this idea to President Trump and I also talked about it with Gianni Infantino. In case, for whatever reason, the Iranian national team does not show up, Italy could be considered. After all, we have won four World Cups.”
“It has been pointed out to me that fans go to the stadium mainly to see champions like Messi, certainly not me. But having Italy, with its enormous prestige and history of success, would be an important added value. And, as an Italian, I did it for my compatriots as well.”
According to Zampolli, the margins for hope are still there: “For me it remains a dream, and this dream is far from gone. Currently the Iranians guarantee their participation, but I am convinced that there can be twists and turns, because Iran is used to frequently changing positions. I saw that they set ten conditions, which seems excessive to me. Someone reported to me that this matter was not appreciated by Donald Trump.”
Not only Iran: in recent days there had also been talk of a possible repechage of Italy in relation to the situation in Congo. The country is suffering from an Ebola epidemic and many had speculated that the Leopards would be excluded for health security reasons.
However, the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA), after a summit between President Véron Mosengo-Omba and FIFA top officials, officially confirmed the team’s presence at the tournament. The federation stressed that the vast majority of the players summoned and much of the technical staff live and play in Europe, thus reducing the risk of contagion to virtually zero.
