Should the World Cup group qualifiers be scrapped ?
Posted by Martin in World Cup | 26 May 2006
Right you have the cans of lager in. The boys are all round. The wife has been sent to her mothers. The pizza/ Chinese / Indian has been ordered to be delivered at half time. You switch on the telly to hear to commentators bumming up the upcoming game as if it is the best game you will ever see. Then it starts South Korea v Togo.
I’ll give you 20 minutes before everyone is talking about last nights Eastenders.
TV companies have been moaning about the fact that their advertising revenues for the greatest show in the world have not met projected targets. And is it really any wonder with such live delights as Ecuador v Costa Rica, Angola v Iran, Togo v Switzerland and for me the one that tops the lot Tunisia v Saudi Arabia canny wait for that one.
Have a quick look at the groups and really only 4 are even slightly interesting. Argentina’s, Italy, Brazil’s and England’s are interesting then again England’s is only interesting because England are it. Hell they could get out of that group with World Cup Willie up front never mind Peter Crouch.
The rest of the groups are a walk in the park for the big teams. With some games at 5pm and in the afternoon you are not going to bunk of work early just to watch them. The highlights programs will get high viewing figures during the week but if the TV companies think that the live games will pull in a crowd they are very much mistaken.
You can argue that it is the world’s top stars playing with France, Spain etc but in reality it’s watching them going through the motions until the real business starts in the knock out stage. For one I won’t be wasting 90mins watching that just because the media tell me I should be interested.
It’s not only the TV companies that are worried FIFA should be worried as well as having non-event groups means less money for them in gate receipts, burgers, pies and programs as the world cup is about them making money as well and not the promoting of world football rubbish that they spout.
This is the most un-interesting group stage I can remember in world cup history due to the amount of Mickey Mouse teams taking part. It is seriously so bad that you may find FIFA could downsize the next world cup and I wouldn’t disagree with there decision.
I would scrap the group qualifiers and automatically qualify the top 20 teams in the world. The last 4 places- would reduce it back to 24 teams- are decided by a knockout competition in the 4 years between. Hopefully that would mean you would end up with quality and no Trinidad’s, Angola’s etc.
I will watch most games but the greatest show in earth won’t start for me until the knockout stages and the best teams come face to face. I mean it is a cup after all.
Hail Hail
KevinG of Lord of the Wing
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Comments
Does this mean you wouldnt have had Senegal in the last World Cup? Would Turkey have made your top 20? What about the FA Cup, with those pesky minnows playing 900 rounds before giving away to the same old faces? The point about the World Cup is that it is aspirsational; every 4 years even small nations get to mix it with the big boys, and the players the chance to show their wears. The World Cup already is an extension of what you are suggesting: a final series which, for logistical purposes, is staged in one place at one time. Your final 16 and winner will still emerge from a narrow band of competitors but in the meantime Angola and Toga have their place day in the sun, and the shop window. Nothing wrong with that...
i agree with you in a way but it will be nice to watch the smaller teams play and see how good they are if they have got this far, but i don't think many will be watching it will only be the real football fans that will be.
from what i have heard itv are finding it hard to sell their advertising space because they are trying to sell it for a high price like the american networks do during the the superbowl and compay,s are not paying up
Ouch - a very british view of the world cup. In the same way you will only watch the England group because England are in it, so the milions of people living in Iran, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and other 'mickey mouse' countries will be glued to the screens for their group games.
Adopting your approach would reduce the likelihood of a sensation like we had with Greece in the Euro championships.
Yes some of the games will be dull, but some of the worst matches I've ever seen have been between the big names.
I'd rather spend 90 minutes in the company of a vibrant African crowd as their team give their all than amongst our gallic neighbours watching the primadonnas in the french team stroll about.
i really think that making it a knock out qualifying will make it easier for wee teams to produce a shock. I think we would see more Greece type shocks.
If Senegal were good enough to get through a few knock out games then fine yes they could be in the world cup but the way the qualification is set up the now makes it easier for certain teams- Mexico / USA- to qualify every time and harder for others.
Start of with regional games then after them it's every man for themselves which means playing teams from different continents.
The point is there are too many international games and the conflict between clubs and countries is causing problems- see Rooney just now.
FIFA have to look at this as it will end up costing them money in the long run.
I'm sure there will be some shocks and i know the mickey mouse countries that i mentioned will be brought to a stand still when they play.
But at the end of the day the qualifying process as it is means that some teams will be well out of their depth and it could be painful to watch for some countries.
The high of getting there could lead to embarressment after a few games and a wish they hadn't had bothered.
"The wife has been sent to her mothers"? What is that all about? Typical.
And that's exactly why we are against the World Cup tournament and all things football!
Read about our Stop the World Cup! movement here: http://stoptheworldcup.co.uk/ If you play by the rules, so will we.
