Friday, May 23, 2014

My proposal for more inclusive FIFA World Cup



It's way too late to make any changes to the FIFA World Cup format for this year.  Teams are set in stone, the venues are picked and the proverbial stage is set.  I, for one, am super excited to see what comes of the tournament this year.  I've already secured my traditional "less the mainstream" jersey (http://www.2014hotworldcupsoccerjerseys.com/japan-2014-away-soccer-jersey-p-473.html) and look forward to a spirited competition in my debatably favorite sport.

My problem, and it's not an uncommon one, is that my country, Canada, will not be there.

Why?

Well, quite frankly, Canada is a pretty mediocre soccer nation on the world stage and never really makes it much above 100 in the FIFA world soccer rankings, but the rankings themselves are not the direct determination factor of whether or not your country goes to the World Cup. Entry to the World Cup is a complex series of continental zone matches determine whether or not your team is one of the few from your zone that gets to go. Canada belongs to the continental zone called, "North and Central America and Caribbean" within there are 41 countries all vying for one of 3.5 entries.  That's less than a 10% chance assuming all things are created equal which they never are.  Contrast that to any of the 53 European countries who vie for 13 spots (24.5% chance). If you are lucky enough to be chosen as the host, well, good news, you get an automatic entry, maybe that's Canada's best chance.  :-)


Once in the World Cup, your Canada is placed into one of eight groups of four countries, based upon a ranked draw, and there is a round robin within the group.  The  top two teams from each group, based on the results of the round robin, advance to single elimination matches, where if you win 4 times in a row, you are the champion.  All in all the winner (and second place team) will have to play 7 matches over the course of the tournament. (elapsed time 1 month and 1 day)

So what's my proposal...

Wouldn't it be great if more teams participated in the actual event, not just the lead up to, which gets far less international coverage, exposure or glamour?

In order to make it work, we have to not change things too dramatically.  For sake of the scientific method, well keep a few constants, the number of games played by the winner and the duration of the tournament as a whole, the only main variables we will change is the number of teams and format of the tournament. 

There are currently, at time of writing, 209 countries in the world officially ranked by FIFA, and only 32 of them (ranking not utilized) make the World Cup (15.3%).   I propose to have the top 128 teams make the World Cup (61.2%).

Why 128?

Well, that's a derivative of my other proposed change to the format, to make the World Cup a single elimination tournament.  With 128 teams in a single elimination tournament, the winner (and second place) play 7 games. (same amount as today)

These changes are very easy to introduce and have a number of economic spin-offs that would occur as a direct result generated by a broader and deeper interest around the world, including increased media, tourism and merchandising revenues.

Worried your stellar country would be eliminated too early?  Well, so is everyone else.  But reality, is that if the bracket is seeded based upon the FIFA rankings, the vast majority of the teams already qualifying as part of the current 32, would play three games anyways, unless of course a "Cinderella" country were to upset them in the first or second round. Imagine the cultural impact to the world, if a country like Afghanistan (currently ranked 128 by FIFA) were to win it's way to even the "Sweet 16".

Skeptics, doubters, racists, xenophobes, and purists will dismiss this proposal quickly for many quasi valid reasons but as a fan of sport in general and the ideals of inclusive and socially responsible play, I believe that these proposals align with the words of one of humanities's best, Nelson Mandela:

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”

Thanks for reading.
Dan



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