Juan Angel Napout said CONMEBOL had to knock on a lot of doors to defend the region's "half-spot" for World Cup qualification.
CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout claimed the federation had to work hard to keep its 4.5 qualifying spots for the World Cup.
The South American federation held onto its allocation of spots for football's showpiece, after the FIFA Congress decided in May that the spots per federation allotment would remain the same from the Brazil World Cup through to Qatar.
Napout revealed it was not simply a matter of FIFA signing off on the same numbers, stating CONMEBOL desperately defended the "extra" half-spot it has held since the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.