With the US attack on Venezuela, which resulted in the deposition of dictator Nicolás Maduro, those interested in football are certainly asking: what changes?
The immediate and initial answer is: nothing.
Nothing? Will FIFA, football’s highest governing body, which decided to punish Vladimir Putin’s Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine (in 2022), with the exclusion of the Russian team from friendlies on the dates it reserves, not do anything in relation to Donald Trump’s United States?
No, it won’t. Why? Because the situations are different.
Immediately, countries sided with Ukraine, disagreeing with Moscow’s warlike actions, and began refusing to play against Russia. Thus, Russian participation in friendlies, as well as in the European qualifiers –organized by UEFA– became unfeasible.
There was also the closure of Russian airspace, which isolated the country from the West. There was no way the logistics and operationalization would work. This also affected clubs in Russia, excluded from European competitions (Champions League, Europa League).
Could they work on a neutral field, outside the country? It would be an alternative. But teams from other nations no longer wanted to face Russian teams. To have football, you need two opponents. If one doesn’t want to, two don’t play.
So, in practice, even if it were legally viable and the rules allowed the Russian national team and Russian clubs to play, it wouldn’t work. The system collapsed.
In the case of the USA and Venezuela, so far no country (national confederations, local federations or clubs) has expressed itself in favor of a boycott of North Americans following the action in South American territory.
The issue, however serious it may be and however wide-ranging it may be, is treated in football circles as a one-off, which does not prevent activities from continuing.
As far as we know, everything remains the same so far within Venezuela on the sporting field. The clubs continue to operate, and the national championship is scheduled to start on January 29th.
It is necessary to emphasize that the US attack is recent, it took place a few days ago, and its consequences will still be known later this month. It is necessary to maintain observation to see if Venezuelan sports authorities will adopt any resolution, and to identify whether the daily lives of teams and players will be affected.
With the Venezuelan team not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, which has the USA as its main host – Canada and Mexico are the other hosts –, the biggest doubt relates to the participation of Venezuelan teams in the international championships (Libertadores and Sudamericana).
The Libertadores begins, in its pre-phase, on February 3rd, with round-trip games between Deportivo Táchira, from Venezuela, and Strongest, from Bolivia.
Will there be safe conditions for visitors to work in Venezuela? Today, there is none. It could be at the beginning of next month.
Having said that, continue with the game. If not, Conmebol, which governs football in South America, will try to hold the duel on a neutral ground (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador). This is the default solution.
The exclusion of Venezuelan clubs would be a drastic measure, only implemented if the possibility of travel – due, for example, to the closure of airports in the country – becomes impossible.
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