The World Cup has been planned for over 35 years with Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti and co.

World Cup with stars of the past? Players like Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry or Francesco Totti who are fighting for the title again? This is what the Association of Former Footballers is planning next June.

Do you see last year's football champions playing together again? This may soon become possible, as “daily Mail” mentioned. The Elite Players Group (EPG) – an association of former professional footballers and sports entrepreneurs – is planning a tournament involving the eight previous world champions.

Teams must consist of players who are at least 35 years old and who have played one international match for their home country or made more than 100 Premier League appearances. For each country, a former star is appointed as team captain to form a team for his country. These are eight of the founders of EPG. These are already well known, but there are also other names being bandied about as potential participants and they couldn't be more exciting.

Accordingly, the provisional squads include players such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Rivaldo (Brazil), Michael Owen, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole (England), Fabio Cannavaro and Francesco Totti (Italy), or David Villa and Carles Puyol (Spain). It is clear that the team leaders will also be looking for players such as Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Cafu and Roberto Carlos.

Thierry Henry could also be present.Photo: AP/AP

From Germany, Kevin Kuranyi is in charge of contacting his old colleagues. The 41-year-old man confirmed this to the German News Agency. To choose him, he asked several former professionals, including Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jens Lehmann. There are already obligations.

Kourani said he was also in talks with former world champions Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira. However, their participation remains open. “I am happy with every new commitment to the team and I believe we will represent Germany well,” the 52-time national player said. The former professional must also act as a coach. “If I'm fit, I'll play too.”

Kevin Kuranyi is supposed to be assembling the German team, so will he also ask Lukas Podolski (right)?Photo: EPA

The EPG Cup is scheduled to be held in England in June between the Champions League final and the opening match of the European Championship. The eight participants start in the quarter-finals. There must be eleven players on the field for each team, but matches must only last 70 minutes instead of 90 minutes.

The organizers' goal is to “create and organize a new type of football that expands the careers of the best players who previously played for their national teams so that they can continue to give their best,” they said on their Twitter page. website He writes. If EPG can indeed get a few of the aforementioned stars into the Over-35 World Cup, it will be a dream for fans who actually witnessed World Cups in the late 1990s and 2000s. (ni/t online)