I did not realise until yesterday that the next tournament to be held in France will be expanded to 24 teams, comprising 6 groups of 4.
For me the Euros are much more enjoyable than the World Cup because of the fact that there are (usually) 16 stong teams competing. It is a perfect format. I also think it makes the qualifying groups more competitive in the knowledge that you have to win your group to be guaranteed a place in the tournament.
I can't remember a Euro tournament I have not enjoyed despite England's dismal record.
The new format will equate to 51/52 games over a period of 29-31 days.
UEFA are pillocks.
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http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefa/Others/84/03/26/840326_DOWNLOAD.pdf
As you say, also makes the qualifying far less interesting.
For me thank means the tournament really won't pick up until about the quarter finals.
I think the real problem is with the qualification. It pretty much makes the qualifiers even less interesting than they already are, as all of the top nations will not have to worry too much if they lose a few games!
they should make only consecutive yellows count as a ban, and do an amnesty on cards/bans from qualifying in my view
24 teams out of 53 UEFA members
6 groups of 4 with top 2 going through AND the 4 best placed 3rd paced teams.
Will be a joke tournament - both world cups that had 24 teams didnt work as well as those with 16 or 32 teams.
at least this way scotland might just have a chance of getting to a tournament.
No one is forcing anyone to watch anything, but its not like Uefa are doing it for the good of the game its about the revenues and doing it for all the wrong reasons.
If you wanted to give the option of having a larger tournament with more slots without watering it down too much then you would just add another 4 slots and make it 4 groups of 5 with the top two going through as you currently do...
6 groups of 4, top 2 from each group go through = 12 teams
They form 4 groups of 3, the winner of each group getting to a semi final
So currently there are 32 games including the 3rd place play off (do they still have this?)
Under the proposal above there would be 48 games.
The first group stage would take 15 days, as you play 2 games on each day for the final games in each group, so would take 15 days compared to 12 currently, not a massive increase. There would then we a 3 day break, and the next group stage would take 7 days (2 days of games, 3 day break, 2 days of games). Another 3 days break, then the semis, 4 day break then the final. Total of 24 days, so you could have a few extra rest days and still complete the whole tournament in under a month.
Advantages:
1)Groups would still be tight with the 3 games each structure
2)The second mini-group stage would mean we see more games between the top sides
3)Still fits the whole tournament into a reasonable time-scale
Disadvantages:
1)Possibly too many rest days for TV Execs/Sponsors liking (though it could be seen as an advantage, the danger of wall to wall football is viewer burnout)
2)The mini-group structure could lead to fewer shocks. A smaller team could grab a one-nil win, and still go out by getting stuffed in their other mini-group game*
*e.g. Germany, Greece and Croatia are in a mini-group. Greece beat Germany 1-0, Germany beat Croatia 3-1, Croatia beat Greece 2-0. Greece go out, despite the victory over the group favourites. In a straight knock-out you'll likely get more upsets, good for the viewers, but probably not what UEFA want or the sponsors want. They want the biggest teams in the semis and finals. Their worst nightmare is likely two minnows sneaking through to a low key final.
And to incorporate another play-off group within the tournament... like seriously, no one else can see that its all about money and not about football. If they want more revenue go american style and have a series...
Portugal (seeded)
Krygystan
San Marino
Lichtenstein
San Marino qualify for the knockout stage as best 3rd placed team (goal diff of minus 22 puts them ahead of Malta minus 26).
They now play Faroe Islands for a place in the quarter finals (against either Austria or Cyprus).
It will kill the tournament.
There are some very decent players in European football who unfortunately never get a look in when it comes to tournaments. Gareth Bale for example. So I do think there is a bit of exagerration going on about how it will 'kill' the tournament.
All it will do is make it feel a little more like the World Cup in terms of length, quality etc.
Its Football for crying out loud and when it comes on, you'll all bloody watch it!
Cameroon back in the day, also the Japs had a bit of a go, I think.
The weaker Euro nations mentioned will never spring a surprise like these teams.
This has already been done:
forum.charltonlife.com/discussion/48788/euro-2016#latest