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Topics: Football World Cup, England, Spain, Italy, Brazil
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Football World Cup, England, Spain, Italy, Brazil
Some of football's all-time greats are set to take part in an over-35s World Cup tournament in England this summer, with Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry and Kaka being lined up to feature.
At the start of June, an eight-team tournament involving England, Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Uruguay will be organised by the Elite Players Group, according to a report from the Daily Mail.
The EPG, a group of former footballers and sports businessmen, have come together to create the EPG Cup – and the founders are set to feature in these star-studded games.
In fact, the founders will captain each country, with Steve McManaman leading an England team that have enlisted Michael Owen, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, David James, Frank Lampard and Robbie Fowler.
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The other captains include: Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina), Emerson (Brazil), Christian Karembeu (France), Kevin Kuranyi (Germany), Marco Materazzi (Italy), Michel Salgado (Spain) and Diego Lugano (Uruguay).
As a rule, only players who have been capped by their country or made 100 top-flight appearances are allowed to take part. So who else will lace up their boots at the EPG Cup this summer?
According to reports, Brazil's 18-man squad will feature Kaka, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo, while Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti are set to line-up for Italy.
France will no doubt be one of the favourites if they manage to bring in Thierry Henry and Marcel Desailly, and Germany may well lift the trophy with Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira in their ranks.
Argentina, meanwhile, will call-up Hernan Crespo and Pablo Zabaleta for their team but Spain may be the ones to beat, with the squad being circulated including David Villa and Carles Puyol.
The games will certainly differ from the much-loved Masters Football format. They will be 11-a-side over a 70 minute period, with teams being able to use roll-on substitutes to make use of their 18-man squads.
So when and where? The venue is still being finalised, according to the Daily Mail, but talks have already taken place with 'some of the Premier League’s biggest northern clubs.'
The quarter-finals are scheduled to be played on June 4 and June 5, with both semi-finals on June 8 before the final on June 11.