IN ALL FAIRNESS - The plusses and minuses of Qatar 2022

So, we are down to the final eight at the FIFA World Cup. Just as we were getting into it, the games are beginning to reduce in frequency and number, but with it the drama is rising.

For all the controversy there was in the build-up to the tournament, hosted by the footballing bastion that is Qatar, the play on the field was always going to claim the limelight and to that extent it has been an enjoyable tournament, with plenty of upsets with more non-traditional sides making the knockout stages, including three from Asia, whom have now made their exit. Coming to the business end of the tournament, the cream has risen to the top and bar the early exits of Germany and Belgium, the big names remain standing in the quarter finals.

The remaining stages will play themselves out over the next ten days but even at this point we can reflectsomewhat on the good and bad points of this tournament.

As a spectator in the Northern Hemisphere, a Winter World Cup has worked in terms of games to help pass the longer evenings. The four-games per day schedule for much of the group stages are something most people will have enjoyed as while many wouldn’t have been able to watch them all, there was always a game or two per day you could focus on trying to watch.

However, the Winter World Cup has had too much of an impact on the soccer schedule worldwide and going back to a summer version would be best for all, plus surely the viewing figures would be better. However, with Saudi Arabia seemingly in the running to host the 2030 World Cup, anything but another winter World Cup for them is an impossibility and as we have seen with the awarding of the tournament to Qatar, money talks!

The four game per day schedule is certainly one that will probably be retained, particularly going into the next World Cup in 2026 which will have 48-teams, up from 32 at this tournament. Being hosted in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with four time zones between the countries, four games per day between the west and east coasts is workable. Increasing the number of teams competing from 32 to 48 will dilute the quality, plus it impacts on the knockout stages as currently going from 32 teams in the group stage to a knockout round of sixteen works perfectly. 48 teams means probably only eliminating sixteen teams after the group stage and adding an extra round of 32. The initial proposal was to have sixteen groups of 3 teams come 2026 but considering the drama we had in the final group games played simultaneously, it has to be revised to 12 groups of 4.

The first option opens the possibility of unfairness as the team who has their two games played before the final one, opens the possibility of their two opponents colluding in the final game to set up the result they want. Even numbered groups allow for fairness and considering there are so many trust issues with FIFA at the moment, creating a situation of teams possibly agreeing a result, such as West Germany and Austria in 1982, it’s a potential issue the tournament doesn’t need, as it already as it with VAR.

The vast amount of injury time being played is also something that is hard to see being retained. While it is great to see as much playing time as possible, it is hard not to think the reason for it is financial to maximise as much sponsorship revenue as possible, as it was something few people were aware was going to happen in the tournament.

VAR remains a thorny issue. There is no doubt its merits but it is the time it takes to make decisions that remains the frustrating aspect. Instant replay on television can make these calls a lot quicker to why does it take the VAR official so long, even to make the simplest calls!

It has been a novel World Cup in so far as the games have been played in close proximity to one another, stadium wise, with some fans able to get in as many as three games per day during the group stages. That is something that will be missed at future tournaments where fans will have to travel between cities, and with it an increased carbon footprint in terms of the environmental impact.