I'm sure someone will be along soon enough to tell us why this tournament is a good idea, but it certainly doesn't look like it so far.
Auckland are obviously by far the weakest team in it (they're semi-pro) so i wouldn't read too much into that as they were always going to get hammered. It's like Bayern playing Welling.
I don't think this tournament will get interesting until the shit teams are eliminated and we get to the quarter finals.
Apart from group H where Al Hilal and Pachuca have a chance because Salzburg aren't very good, most groups seem a formality and i'd be surprised if all the other quarter finalists aren't from Europe and South America.
Wasn't that essentially the club world cup before this new format?
Also, its noticeable how so far nobody in the commentary teams, pundits, interviewers or anyone has said anything that might even be considered slightly negative. Because they've all got their noses in the trough.
"Credit the Aukland team, who didn't disgrace themselves". They just lost 10-0. What are they even doing there. Crazy.
Last night one of the pundits opening the show was the President of DAZN (the TV network). The OTT amount of praising of the tournament, the format etc is hard to ignore.
I'm friends with someone in America who knows one of the main fan organizers for Inter Miami. Apparently a lot of fans are getting moved around to different parts of the stadium so that it can appear more full on the main TV camera.
Also, its noticeable how so far nobody in the commentary teams, pundits, interviewers or anyone has said anything that might even be considered slightly negative. Because they've all got their noses in the trough.
"Credit the Aukland team, who didn't disgrace themselves". They just lost 10-0. What are they even doing there. Crazy.
Last night one of the pundits opening the show was the President of DAZN (the TV network). The OTT amount of praising of the tournament, the format etc is hard to ignore.
I mean, it’s pretty fucking easy to ignore if you asked me…
Botafogo v Seattle Sounders the last game of the day. Being played in Seattle so possibly a better crowd than we will have seen so far for the other games?
Tournament would’ve made much more sense if it was 16 teams with four European champions, four South American champions, two champions from each of Africa, Asia and North America and two playoff spots.
Agree with this, 32 teams is way way too many.
The problem with the above though is that it's a 4 year cycle, so you'd need to have play off matches if Africa/Asia/North America had more than 2 different champions over the 4 year cycle. But that's not a major issue.
Then i would have the 14 teams as you've said above, plus a team from the host nation, and the last place to be decided by a play off between the champions of Oceania and whoever the best ranked Champion from Africa/Asia/North America are that lost in the play off matches.
16 teams. Straight knockout matches. A team plays 4 games to win it.
When will the players grow some balls and tell their clubs to fuck off ? How much money do these people need ?
But the clubs need the money to reach the extortionate players’ wage demands. It must be in their contract which competitions they have to play in.
Ultimately it all comes down to TV. The only way it will change is if the public refuses to pay subscriptions to watch football. Your question should be: When will the public grow some balls and tell their paid subscription TV companies to fuck off ?
I will have to add ‘Club World Cup’ to the list of phrases that can easily summarise the state of the game at the moment and how it is obsessed with nothing other than money. Right next to ‘Pure Profit’, where fans are gaslighted into believing selling off home grown players is somehow a genius way of balancing the books. I wonder what would have become of Gerrard, Scholes, Giggs etc if that rule had been around back then.
Like most fans I long ago accepted that greed has taken over the beautiful game but there is something about this tournament that just really reinforces the fact that those in control of the game care about absolutely nothing other than money, money and more money. Football has now essentially cannibalised itself and despite the billions of pounds it generates it will never be enough. You can bet your last pound FIFA will see how much money this generates and decide it will become an annual thing. Then once they’ve milked this cash cow dry there’ll invent another tournament we don’t need to add to all the rest.
I listened to a podcast a few weeks ago where the host was adamant that we would see premier league games played abroad within at least the next two seasons. At one point that seemed inconceivable to me however I am now at a point where I would be shocked if it didn't happen. The second another league does it you will have owners over here bleating about how the Premier League needs to do it otherwise it’ll be ‘left behind’ and ‘can’t compete’ etc.
The worst thing is you will have plenty of supporters arguing the case for it as soon as owners say they can’t afford new signings etc. it is depressingly predictable and once it happens there will be no going back.
I will have to add ‘Club World Cup’ to the list of phrases that can easily summarise the state of the game at the moment and how it is obsessed with nothing other than money. Right next to ‘Pure Profit’, where fans are gaslighted into believing selling off home grown players is somehow a genius way of balancing the books. I wonder what would have become of Gerrard, Scholes, Giggs etc if that rule had been around back then.
Like most fans I long ago accepted that greed has taken over the beautiful game but there is something about this tournament that just really reinforces the fact that those in control of the game care about absolutely nothing other than money, money and more money. Football has now essentially cannibalised itself and despite the billions of pounds it generates it will never be enough. You can bet your last pound FIFA will see how much money this generates and decide it will become an annual thing. Then once they’ve milked this cash cow dry there’ll invent another tournament we don’t need to add to all the rest.
I listened to a podcast a few weeks ago where the host was adamant that we would see premier league games played abroad within at least the next two seasons. At one point that seemed inconceivable to me however I am now at a point where I would be shocked if it didn't happen. The second another league does it you will have owners over here bleating about how the Premier League needs to do it otherwise it’ll be ‘left behind’ and ‘can’t compete’ etc.
The worst thing is you will have plenty of supporters arguing the case for it as soon as owners say they can’t afford new signings etc. it is depressingly predictable and once it happens there will be no going back.
Not league games but France, Italy and Spain have all played their super cup matches abroad in recent years.
Spain play it in Saudi. Italy have played it in Qatar, China and Saudi. France have played it in tons of different countries.
However i think there would be too much of a backlash if they looked to play English games abroad. Look how quickly fans of our clubs got the super league idea quickly shut down.
Was listening to an Athletic podcast today where they did an overview of Gianni Infantino and how he got to where he is today.
One thing that was interesting was that in his campaign manifesto he told the 207 member nations (all of which have one vote each), that if elected he would ensure that the development budget for each country would be doubled.
Where does that money come from? Expanded World Cups and Club World Cups of course.
So there is an argument (albeit one I’m suspicious of), that these sorts of events are in some roundabout way helping the global game in smaller countries.
If it was any other organisation besides FIFA then I could maybe half believe it, but their credit is so far in the negative from years and years of corruption that it’s hard to ever think they’ll do something without profit in mind.
Quite incredible that they are actually officially set up as a ‘charity’ organisation.
The problem is the money will all be filtered into a few clubs. A bit like UEFA money and Scotland, it all goes to the Glasgow clubs who then pull away from the rest of the league and it becomes a perpetual cycle
Comments
Last night one of the pundits opening the show was the President of DAZN (the TV network). The OTT amount of praising of the tournament, the format etc is hard to ignore.
I'm friends with someone in America who knows one of the main fan organizers for Inter Miami. Apparently a lot of fans are getting moved around to different parts of the stadium so that it can appear more full on the main TV camera.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/joshua-redfearn/profil/spieler/724731
Botafogo v Seattle Sounders the last game of the day. Being played in Seattle so possibly a better crowd than we will have seen so far for the other games?
The problem with the above though is that it's a 4 year cycle, so you'd need to have play off matches if Africa/Asia/North America had more than 2 different champions over the 4 year cycle. But that's not a major issue.
Then i would have the 14 teams as you've said above, plus a team from the host nation, and the last place to be decided by a play off between the champions of Oceania and whoever the best ranked Champion from Africa/Asia/North America are that lost in the play off matches.
16 teams. Straight knockout matches. A team plays 4 games to win it.
Job done.
Bayern prize money for beating Auckland - 1.4m
Boca Juniors 0-2 Benfica
Chelsea 6-0 LAFC
Ultimately it all comes down to TV. The only way it will change is if the public refuses to pay subscriptions to watch football. Your question should be:
When will the public grow some balls and tell their paid subscription TV companies to fuck off ?
Spain play it in Saudi.
Italy have played it in Qatar, China and Saudi.
France have played it in tons of different countries.
However i think there would be too much of a backlash if they looked to play English games abroad. Look how quickly fans of our clubs got the super league idea quickly shut down.
I don't recall the Germans, the Italians or the Spanish causing the sort of scene the English did on the European Super League announcement day.
I think we'd do it again if games went abroad.
German clubs and (surprisingly) PSG flatly rejected it straight away.
Where does that money come from? Expanded World Cups and Club World Cups of course.