usnt fan wrote:
Now qualifying is pointless
If you don't qualify you don't play in the World Cup, so how can qualifying be pointless?
16 groups of 3 teams? WTF.
Qualifying isn't worthless, but this is yet another money grab by FIFA. It's just dumb, plain and simple. Grow the game? Ha. It's all about lining the pockets.
FIFA forecasts $1 billion in extra income from broadcasting and sponsor deals, plus ticket sales, compared to $5.5 billion forecast for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-fifa-world-cup-teams-20170110-story.html
Yeah, totally ruined.
OMG, how will the WC ever survive?
OMG.
Is it possible to ruin soccer?
Looks like the CONCACAF quota is being raised from 3.5 places to 6.5 places.
If it wasn't easy enough for USA to qualify already, they make it so it's completely certain.
Meanwhile in Europe....
FIFA have been rogering football's anus for a while now, you just have to see that the 2022 World Cup is going to be played in a rat infested oven to work that out.
usnt fan wrote:
Now qualifying is pointless
http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/3035778/fifa-council-unanimously-approves-world-cup-expansion-to-48-teams
IT is about time.
Africa has about 55 countries and only gets five spots and this was an addition of two. We used to have three spots about twenty years ago.
United Kingdom has I believe up to four spots- almost equivalent to the entire African continent.
Europe sends about 13 countries.
This will give Africa and Asia more countries but it'll still be disproportionate.
More countries=more opportunities for graft.
Can Seb Coe go back on the FIFA Ethics commission?
LA Times wrote:
Instead, three-team groups will replace the usual groups of four to create simple progress to a knockout bracket. However, it leaves one team idle for final group games and could risk collusion between the other two teams.
FIFA said it could guard against result-rigging by introducing penalty shootouts after group games that end in draws.
This is jacked. Result rigging will definitely happen.
Even more jacked if they really give Africa and Asia 9 teams and Europe only 16. They would probably get to grab more money just by spacing the group stage games out more rather than this participation trophy tournament.
If there were 148 countries to qualify Scotland would still find a way to miss out.
Glasgow Kisser wrote:
If there were 148 countries to qualify Scotland would still find a way to miss out.
This reminds me of a joke regarding Poland (I believe).
Every time they qualify for the world cup, they are the first team to be knocked out. They usually lose their opening two games and only play the third as mere formality.
The joke is that they never receive their 'wishing you all the best' 'success' cards because by the time these cards arrive at the World Cup venue, the guys are usually enroute to Warsaw.
Sara Palin wrote:
LA Times wrote:Instead, three-team groups will replace the usual groups of four to create simple progress to a knockout bracket. However, it leaves one team idle for final group games and could risk collusion between the other two teams.
FIFA said it could guard against result-rigging by introducing penalty shootouts after group games that end in draws.
This is jacked. Result rigging will definitely happen.
Even more jacked if they really give Africa and Asia 9 teams and Europe only 16. They would probably get to grab more money just by spacing the group stage games out more rather than this participation trophy tournament.
Asia should get 9 spots and Africa 10.
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