The Death of Football

We are witnessing the death of the great game of football (soccer if your still not tuned in) at the hands of its own governing body FIFA.

Qualification for FIFA's and the sport's flagship competition The FIFA World Cup for 2010 is almost completed. In Europe, where most fans attention is focused, every country is entered into qualifying. This makes for ninr groups of six teams. Every team in the group plays eachother home and away. The top team in each group automatically makes it into the World Cup. The top 8 runners up (the worst runner up team gets left out in the cold) are thrown into a pot and matched up in pairs to play a home and away series against eachother for the last four spots.

Or so we were told...

FIFA have now officially changed these rules so that the runners up are still paired against eachother but now the eight teams are seeded based no ranking and prestige. This is clearly a ploy by FIFA to try and make sure any of the really big name teams that did not win their group will have an easier run through the playoff. For example, France and Portugal are two massive teams who were expected to contend for the World Cup crown but both have struggled in qualifying and will almost surely be in the playoffs. FIFA are eliminating the chance of them meeting and thus one of them not getting in. They only care about profits.

This disgusts me because The World Cup should be about any team who qualifies getting a fair shot no matter what their past record or fame is. My country, Ireland will be in the playoffs but instead of having a random shot at drawing another relatively small team, will now be drawn against a bigger team giving them a very slim chance of qualifying.

This disgusts me.

It is one thing if FIFA want to do this but if you are going to, at least set that as the rules at the BEGINNING! You cannot change it half way through because some popular teams aren't doing so well. If thos huge teams dont make it, c'est la vie.

Lets give every team in the WORLD, a chance to compete at the WORLD CUP...

Im not saying, im just saying.