AuthorJeffEyesRimmer We now know the teams that will be competing at the World Cup next year in Russia and while those teams will certainly be looking forward to it much of the talk this past week has been about the teams missing out on the tournament. Traditional big sides like Italy and Netherlands have missed out, along with South American and Confederations Cup Champions Chile. Ivory Coast and Cameroon are big misses from Africa and another big shock was the USA not qualifying. However, a few days after the final teams were confirmed for Russia 2018 a suggestion was made on social media of a potential ‘Losers’ Cup. This cup would involve some of the big sides that had failed to qualify for the Russia World Cup and was originally touted as a bit of a joke. Well, its clear you shouldn’t joke on social media because the USA Football Association took it as a great idea and are now pursuing the idea of a ‘Losers’ Cup.
I have to admit I initially scoffed at the idea; FIFA wouldn’t let a competition like this go ahead, as I thought it would be in direct competition with the actual World Cup. Well it seems FIFA can surprise us and issued a statement late last week that it wouldn’t have a problem with nations organising this tournament but prior to the Russia World Cup. So could this idea get off the ground, would it be a success? I highlight a few of the key issues faced by the tournament and why it can indeed work. The Teams Firstly, for this tournament to get off the ground what it needs most is the big name national sides that missed out on the Russia World Cup to take part. Teams like Italy and Netherlands would add the historical big national teams needed and Chile would add actual title winners to the tournament. These teams are a must if it’s going to be a credible and successful tournament. With the USA pushing the idea it is likely the competition would be held in the USA. This would add plenty of great reasons to enter, as per later in this article, but having the USA and potentially Canada enter would bring their vast populations, TV and sponsors into the mix. Adding in the big African countries like Ivory Coast and Cameroon would add a more international feel and potentially have their fans join in. It would also mean more interest from that continent. A team like China would also bring with it huge possibilities for TV, sponsor and fans and also help as a platform for Chinese football to play in a tournament with top tier nations, something they are longing to do. Adding teams in like Republic of Ireland taps into the huge number of Irish fans there are in the USA and having teams like Wales and Algeria enter, with their big name players like Bale and Mahrez adds quality. Without these sorts of teams the competition won’t be a success, with them however, it makes for quite a credible tournament. The Players Similar to the teams here but the tournament will only be as good as the football on show and for quality football you need quality footballers (obviously). If the big name players are missing from the Russia World Cup then they need to be in this tournament for it to succeed. There is no point in inviting the teams if they only bring their D grade squads. Players like Vidal from Chile, Bale from Wales, Robben from Netherlands, Belotti from Italy and Kessie from Ivory Coast need to be there. The Fans It really does go without saying but missing out on the World Cup hurts (I should know as a Welshman) and a ‘Losers Cup’ wouldn’t take the edge off. However, the chance for fans to see their team in a tournament is still a big draw card. Coupled with the fact that it would likely be held in the USA, which has far better connections than Russia for fans and a more liberal entry system for tourists (amazing to say that in the current world climate but there you go) and it means fans would likely attend this tournament. The USA also has plenty of immigrants from countries that would take part, there are plenty of Irish, Italian, Chinese and Canadian fans in the USA and plenty would jump at the chance to see their home nations and/or ancestral countries play. There also seems to be an appetite for football in the USA at the moment, with the MLS having fantastic attendance records this season and its growing. When debut teams like Atlanta can pull in crowds of over 40k per game you are onto a winner. Places like Seattle, Portland and Toronto have had great crowd numbers and so it stands to reason these fans would be keen to see an International tournament on their doorstep. Venues and Infrastructure Put simply the US has great infrastructure for a tournament to be held in. They have done so before and have held Olympics as well so they are more than capable of running a ‘friendly’ football tournament. They have the transport links and the stadiums to be able to cater to fans and so wont need any further funding improve stadiums. Additionally, not being an official FIFA tournament means they would have to adhere to some of the rules, for instance the requirement for 40,000 seater stadiums could be ignored if they wanted. The major benefit of playing in say June too is that the stadiums would be free (to a point). The NFL doesn’t start until September so the potential venues opens up further and there would be less competition for TV time with the domestic US market. The MLS starts in March and ends in December typically but could adjust its schedule to cope with the time-frame; it will already have to deal with the Russia World Cup anyway so this shouldn’t be too much of a difficulty. FIFA So I thought this would be the major sticking point for a potential tournament like this. FIFA would hardly sanction something that would be in direct competition with the Russia World Cup, it just wouldn’t make sense. However, late this past week FIFA indicated that they wouldn’t have an issue with a tournament like this going ahead, especially before the World Cup as plenty of teams will be looking for friendlies then anyway. I would suspect FIFA would change their tune if this competition was to take anything from the Russia World Cup though but it seems to me the biggest hurdle has been cleared for this competition to go ahead. TV Fox Sports in the US Paid big money for the rights to air the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and have subsequently been caught up in bribery and corruption charges. Fox have been put on trial for their partnership with a South American marketing firm. It is claim that millions of dollars in bribes were made to high-ranking football officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to major tournaments. With the US missing out it all seems a little painful for Fox. Consequently, a tournament that they could start afresh with and have the USA be a part of would be a welcome distraction for the broadcaster. It would likely help the bottom line too. Additionally, plenty of broadcasters would be interested in showing a tournament that featured some of the bigger sides that missed out. There would be plenty of potential viewers to be gained if the likes of Italy, Netherlands and Chile could be persuaded to enter. Those markets will likely have a downturn with them missing out on Russia and so there is potential for TV to cash in on games that they would otherwise have missed out on. Sponsors Similar to the TV broadcasters the opportunity to have access to markets that they may have missed out on in addition to more football games to advertise will be big draw cards. Having countries in all of the big regions would be a huge draw for sponsors, with the likes of USA, Chile, Italy and Ivory Coast and maybe an Asian regional team would likely be lucrative for them. Overall, this tournament could work and could be a big draw for all those involved and to be honest I can see this happening. What do you think? Think the ‘Losers’ Cup can get off the ground? Does it make the USA FA look like sore losers? |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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