International Football revamps (Long ish read)

[Gunner]

I came across this online.

This guy proposes merging The Conmebol (Copa America) and the Concacaf (Gold Cup), to create a cup of the Americas so to speak, a tournament that rivals the Euros.

He goes into his reasons for it in 3 parts. The only part im posting is the 3rd part, the other 2 are not so necessary, but look them up if you want.

Part 1: http://www.soccerrep...rs-part-1-of-3/

Part 2: http://www.soccerrep...numbers-part-2/

Part 3:

This is the conclusion of a three part series that recommends radical changes in national competition in our hemisphere. The first of these three parts laid out what works in national soccer competition globally. The second evaluated the national competitions in this hemisphere.

The third installment lays out the way forward.

February, 2015, Saturday night, 8 PM.

The setting, Madison Square Garden, New York City; set up for a special, unprecedented occasion.

Seated at the head table on stage is Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA (still) and to his right the Vice-President of the United States, Joe Biden (still). To the left and right of both gentleman, respectively, are seated Nicolas Leoz, the 87 year old, legendary President of CONMEBOL, and Hugo Sanchez, newly elected President of CONCACAF.

The rest of the seats at the head table on stage are taken by Pele, Maradona, and several well known celebrities from around the Americas. In front of the head stage is the well known set-up of ping-pong sized balls and containers used in a typical FIFA tournament draw.

The stage is bathed in cool blue, with camera’s beaming the picture around the America’s. In the darkened room, at tables facing the stage, sit delegations made up of the captains of the national teams, head coaches, and head of national federations and tag alongs, of 20 North, Central, and South American countries.

Finally, a few hundred lucky fans and members of delegations are seated in the lower sections of MSG stadium seating further back.

The spotlights pick up Shakira entering the stage in front of the dignitaries from the left to perform a new composition for the occasion, and the crowed is further wowed when Beyonce joins her from the right half-way through. The show has started.

After their performance, the spotlights focus on Sepp Blatter as he makes his way to the microphone dais.

“Mr. Vice-President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the United States, and of the America’s, welcome to the inaugural draw of the Cup of the New World! El Sr. Vice-Presidente, señoras y señores de los Estados Unidos, y de la América, bienvenidos al sorteo inaugural de la Copa del Mundo Nuevo!”

And with that, the venue lights up, as balloons fall revealing banners depicting the smart icon for CONMO, by now well known regionally, as FIFA proceeds to hold the inaugural draw of it’s latest tournament, with all of the marketing and fanfare it can muster.

Or something like that.

The new tournament replaces the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF quadrennial tournaments. After the World Cup is played in July, the 6 countries of Central America and the 30 countries of the Carribean play their respective Cups in a chosen country, respectively, as they have always done, that Fall.

The top 3 countries of each of these tournaments qualify for the CONMO qualifying draw in February, as well as the winner of home and away games between the fourth place countries of each tournament.

The ten countries of CONMEBOL automatically qualify for CONMO qualifying, as do Mexico, the United States, and Canada in CONCACAF. Based on the latest (2011) results, the following would be the 20 delegate countries in the darkened room in Madison Square Garden.

CONMEBOL – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela.

CONCACAF – Mexico, United States, Canada, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Cuba, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador (wins 4th place playoff).

CONMO qualifying will be based on 5 groups of 4 teams. The top 5 countries per FIFA rankings will seed the five groups.

Furthermore, the top 3 countries of each confederation by FIFA ranking can not be in the same qualifying group (remove the ball before picking that round). Countries will play home and away per the same rules as the Euro’s.

The top 2 of each group qualify for the Finals tournament held 2 years after the World Cup, with the top two of the third place finishers qualifying as well (if the host country of the Final qualifies; otherwise the host country takes the last slot).

I put together a draw based on random draws with the above 20.

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5

Brazil Uruguay Argentina Chile Mexico

Colombia USA Panama Paraguay Peru

Costa Rica Bolivia Cuba Honduras Venezuela

Ecuador Guadeloupe Canada El Salvador Jamaica

After qualifying rounds finishing before the summer of 2016, the inaugural tournament will be held in the United States in July 2016. As always, the criteria for hosting will always be based on first the ability to both host top quality matches as well as accommodating travelling fans.

The Finals will be based on three groups of four teams. The top 2 of each group plus the top two third place finishers move on to the knock-out rounds.

Competitively, CONMO ensures high level of competition by using the Carribean Cup and Central American cup to whittle down the CONCACAF competitors which has a high number of countries in the undesirable <2M population range.

The rigors of qualifying will sharpen the teeth and reinforce the belief of sides that qualify for the finals. But the caliber of competitive soccer is not in any way the only important reason for this tournament.

Spectacle – As a spectacle, CONMO will finally give soccer fans in the hemisphere a tournament that rivals the World Cup in the middle of the interim years, and for many that are not able to attend an actual World Cup, an opportunity to see and revel in that type of atmosphere.

With recent growth in the popularity of Soccer in the US, ESPN and NBC (not to mention other TV outlets in the hemisphere) will want to create an event friendly to their TV broadcasts, and staging such a tournament will not be cheap.

Therefore, the question arises, why would a host country other than the US want to host a tournament? The answer lies in tourism.

New patterns in hemispheric tourism – Organizers, TV, governments, and FIFA will want to collaborate to stimulate travel fans to introduce their country to the tourists of the hemisphere.

Here in the US, while travel to Europe and even Asia is quite common, my sense is that travel to South America is far less common for most. CONMO could serve as a way to accelerate the familiarity and ties of the people of the hemisphere, who after all, are best placed to enjoy destinations in close

proximity, or at least in the same time zones.

As recent developments in economic growth are demonstrating, and as President Obama’s trip to Brazil underlined, hemispheric collaboration at all levels and fields will become more important in the near future, and COMNO can serve to anchor these introductory relationships.

Down the road, not only will the tournaments serve as a venue for soccer tourism, and even fan zones, but the qualifiers might also serve as opportunities for soccer tourism with denizens using a qualifier as an excuse to visit a country that normally has not seen much travel between the two populations.

As in Europe, travel from both sides will be more attractive and encouraged when a critical mass starts to travel, but it would be a positive development for many reasons in the region.

Indeed, new narratives and connections can develop between countries and populations over time as countries are profiled and visited through qualifiers and tournaments.

The truth is it would not be out of hand to imagine qualifiers and a final tournament every bit as well supported and as colorful as the Euro’s in twenty to 30 years if managed and promoted correctly.

CONMO would completely change the cadence of competitive international soccer in the region. Whether thrilled or disappointed by the fortunes of a World Cup final, assuming a country even qualified, CONMO would mean fans don’t have much time to dwell on that experience; and have a serious tournament to qualify for and look forward to over the next two years.

FIFA would finally have the four horsemen of the North (Euro’s), South (African CON), East (AFC Asian Cup), and West (CONMO), to tide over the global enthusiasm for that stimulating competition of

national soccer that peaks every four years at the World Cup.

While CONMO is an important event for the hemisphere for the two years following a World Cup, it is equally important that qualification for the World Cup remain as it exists today with separate qualification between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.

Not only would combining the confederations undermine CONMO by dulling the uniqueness and intrigue of that tournament, FIFA wants to do everything it can to have the key countries of the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, all three of which have very large populations and a relatively high per capita income, involved to support very lucrative FIFA licensing.

That leaves the confederations cup. Who qualifies? I propose that the highest finishing team by round from both confederations (separately) in CONMO qualify for the confed cup.

If the two or more teams finish at equal levels as the highest finishers in their confederations, then they can play a playoff in the sidelines of the CONMO finals tournament so you know who has qualified for the confederations cup at the end of CONMO.

And so, at the conclusion of the inaugural CONMO finals, played at the Rose Bowl in LA in July 2016, as the winning team raises the inaugural, historic trophy, one would be able to say that the patient has had successful surgery, and has made more than a complete recovery; the patient has grown; and the hemisphere is not the same place in people’s minds.

Do you think it would work? Pros and cons?

What do you think of the Euros being expanded from 16 to 24 teams

How would your international calender work?

Personally i like his idea.

[Benicio del Toney]

Didn't read but good idea.

Now they just need to put all the West Indian islands together as 1 association to make it fairer.

[Gunner]

Similar to how the Copa America and the Gold Cup 'invites' other nations to participate, usually nations what are culturally close or geographically close like Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Honduras. Japan , i wonder if the African cup of nations would consider doing the same to the Black/''African'' Caribbean nations. i know they aint the best, but Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago for example. it might not add alot specticle wise, but it like to see it happen.

[Benicio del Toney]

Another good idea, would bring black people together a lot more that's for sure.

[Lieutenant]

The only team that would add any sort of weight to be copa America is Mexico really and they already get invited every year so mehh

/

Expanding the euros just means more average teams

[Captain Planet]

Allow Carribeans in the African cup come on man

Tournament is bad as it is

[Benicio del Toney]

Yeah but it would be a massive statement.

Like even though slavery happened we are one peoples, massive statement.

Caribbean's would be more interested in it aswell.

[Captain Planet]

I don't know what you're talking about tbh

DO NOT WANT

[Benicio del Toney]

African Cup of Nations is the deadest International tourny on earth.

[Fighting Weight]

Not in a position to read atm someone please summarise.

[Fighting Weight]

Cheers