Soccer chiefs flag "Champions League" of Americas

 RIO DE JANEIRO, July 14 (Xinhua) -- South American football's governing body CONMEBOL is in talks with North and central American counterpart CONCACAF about a unified¹ tournament in the mould of Europe's Champions League.

CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb met with CONMEBOL directors in Sao Paulo earlier this month to discuss the prospect² of an annual competition boasting the continent's best clubs.

"Representatives from CONCACAF were here and we spoke³ about the idea," CONMEBOL's communication manager Nestor Benitez told Lancenet on Saturday."We agreed we would be meeting again to discuss the matter further."CONMEBOL currently has the Copa Libertadores, which features the top sides from South America's domestic leagues. Mexico has also fielded teams in the competition since 1998 despite being a member of CONCACAF.

Elite⁴ clubs from North and Central America and Caribbean play in the CONCACAF Champions League. But the league is relatively⁵ less known compared with the Copa Libertadores, which is broadcasted in more than 130 countries and regions and enjoys huge marketing⁶ appeal.

Distance is a major stumbling block in talks with the prospect of 10-hour flights between some cities.

1 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。