Blatter: African team may never win World Cup

[Mosiah]

Blatter: African team may never win World Cup
Sunday, October 27, 2013


LONDON, England (AP) — Concerned about the prospects of an African team finally lifting the World Cup, FIFA President Sepp Blatter believes their chances would be enhanced if more teams from the continent were given berths at the tournament.

Blatter is seeking to break the stranglehold on World Cup berths for European and South American sides to ensure the global game is better represented at football's showpiece event.

For the 2014 World Cup, 53 European teams have been competing for 13 spots at the finals, but the 54-nation Confederation of African Football will have only five teams in Brazil. That leaves Africa "woefully under-represented at the World Cup", according to Blatter.

"As long as this remains the case, African sides may never win an intercontinental trophy, regardless of progress on the playing side," Blatter wrote in FIFA's new weekly magazine which was published on Friday. "This flawed state of affairs must be rectified.

"At the end of the day, an equal chance for all is the paramount imperative of elite sport."

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport...#ixzz2iwJs7Qss

[World Fan]

No point in going to WC then.

[Zeppo]

Why does Africa deserve more berths? There has never been a World Cup with more than one African team making it out of their group.

[Stonigut]

It is a strangely illogical argument, so now I ask how many go from South America and I am thinking it is five, so what's the difference, only South America winning nine cups, only difference really is just tradition.

[World Fan]

Why does CONCACAF deserves 3 1/2 spots?

None will make it past the second round.

Ghana was the better team vs USA last World Cup.

[Dunny]

Uefa president Michel Platini wants 40 teams in the World Cup, to make room for African and Asian teams

French legend wants eight more teams in the tournament, so as to accommodate more African and Asian countries without reducing the number of European sides

Uefa president Michel Platini wants 40 teams in the World Cup, to make room for more African and Asian teams

Grand plans: Michel Platini wants to expand the World Cup to 40 teams Photo: REUTERS

By Ben Rumsby

9:00AM GMT 28 Oct 2013

Michel Platini will push for the World Cup finals to be expanded from 32 to 40 teams and is confident Fifa will back what would be the most significant change to the tournament in two decades.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter last week called for more African and Asian representation at football’s biggest event, something that was widely regarded as a call for the number of European teams to be cut.


But Uefa counterpart Platini has turned the argument on its head by revealing he wants to add eight countries to the mix, two from Africa, two from Asia, two from North and Central America, one from Oceania and one from Europe.

The Frenchman claimed his proposal, which would see the group stages expanded from eight groups of four to eight groups of five from the 2018 event in Russia, would only extend the current 31-day tournament by three days and would be “good for everybody”.

Platini told The Times: “I totally agree with Mr Blatter that we need more African and Asian [countries]. But instead of taking away some European, we have to go to 40 teams. We can add two African, two Asiatic, two American, one Oceania and one from Europe.”
The World Cup expanded from 24 to 32 teams in 1998 and from 16 teams to 24 in 1982, with Fifa’s membership having also grown by more than 60 associations between 1975 and 2002.

Platini added: “Football is changing and we now we have 209 associations. There are more countries so why reduce? You have three days more of competition and you make more people happy.”

One of seven Fifa vice-presidents, Platini revealed he would consult its executive committee about his proposal as soon as possible, with its next meeting ahead of December’s 2014 World Cup finals draw in Salvador, Brazil. “Of course they will vote for it,” he added.

His declaration comes amid increased tension with Blatter before the next Fifa presidential election in 2015, despite both agreeing a pact not to declare their candidacy before next year’s World Cup.

Asked what Blatter made of his idea, Platini said: “I haven’t told him yet.”

Europe currently have 13 guaranteed World Cup finals berths, with South America and Africa having five each, Asia four and North and Central America three.

The remaining two places are decided by play-offs.

[Hortical]

Platini told The Times: “I totally agree with Mr Blatter that we need more African and Asian [countries]. But instead of taking away some European, we have to go to 40 teams. We can add two African, two Asiatic, two American, one Oceania and one from Europe.”

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I would go with 3 African, 2 Asian, 1 Concacaf, 1 European & 1/2 Oceania.

The quality of ball in Concacaf nuh ready fi 5 teams right now.

[Mosiah]

Was it the translation?

Who the hell says Asiatic and not Asian? And American represents CONCACAF?

[Zeppo]

Why does CONCACAF deserves 3 1/2 spots?

Because on several occasions CONCACAF has seen more than one of their teams advance from the group stage at a World Cup.

That's something Africa still cannot claim, despite the fact that they always receive more WC places than CONCACAF.

[Mosiah]

Thank you very much!

Egads! I just agreed with Zeppo!

[World Fan]

On every occasion that there has been a Word Cup final competition, no country outside of Europe or South America has ever won(past performance).

Why not just limit the competition to just those two continents(future results)?

[Zeppo]

In the last World Cup, Africa had a record 6 spots. Yet again, only one of those teams managed to make it out of their group.

An African team also made history when, for the first time ever, a host country -- South Africa -- failed to advance from the group stage.

[Jangle]

That's an incredible statistic. Makes me stop and think seeing that I see African teams being stronger than all of CONCACAF teams with the exception of Mexico of past.

[Assasin]

I was telling you but because Jamaica not doing so well, everybody look good.

The only African team I see heading forward is Ghana and that is because they seems to have a program in place and can measure some growth.

[World Fan]

A European team also made history by being the first to win the World Cup outside of Europe.

So there is a first time for everything.

Look at it like this, group the North African countries with Asia and they can take the two spots with them.

All of a sudden Africa is looking a lot like CONCACAF, results wise.