The 2030 World Cup is in danger of spiralling out of control.
The tournament, which will mark the 100th anniversary of football’s biggest competition, is already proving controversial thanks to the decision to hold it in six countries.
The opening games will take place in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay before the rest of the matches are played in Spain, Morocco and Portugal. The idea was to spread the football far and wide to ensure more countries get to share the party.
However, this means teams will be playing in different countries, on different continents, with various time zones and climatic conditions; which is certainly not ideal from a performance point of view.
More than that, the decision to hold games over such a geological span is also proving highly controversial from an environmental perspective. Players, staff, journalists, officials and fans jetting thousands of miles in multiple directions for just for a few hours of football is going to give the 2030 tournament a carbon footprint of super-volcano proportions.
And that has got the green movement understandably hot under the collar.
Now if all that wasn’t enough, CONMEBOL, the South American federation, has proposed that the tournament itself should be expanded to 64 teams. Given the significance of the centennial event, they feel more countries should be involved.
It would mean 128 games need to be played before we would have a winner. How long would it last? All summer?
Although it’s a proposal based on sound sentiments, it is still rather silly.
For a start, this would entirely devalue the qualification process, with more than a quarter of the teams that start out in qualifying making it through to the finals. Any country of any decent standing would pretty much only need to make it on to the pitch to book their place in the finals.
Then there is the logistical nightmare a tournament that size would involve. Just imagine how many fans would be moving around the six different countries following those 64 teams. And it would mean 128 games need to be played before we would have a winner.
How long would it last? All summer? Or would it be spread even further afield to have games played in more stadia? And how would that work with time and schedules? And what about the additional environmental impact of all those extra bums on aeroplane seats?
Yes, everything can be arranged when it comes to logistics. And FIFA could agree to plant a billion trees to compensate for their big, dirty, carbon-stained footprint.
But is it all necessary? I suspect not.
CONMEBOL’s proposal has not exactly been received with open arms. UEFA is against it, as is the American and Caribbean federation CONCACAF. And, ultimately, I would very much expect FIFA to spike the idea.
The 2026 tournament is already set to grow from the normal 32 teams to 48, and most people seem to think that expansion was already a step too far. Adding another 16 countries would just be a recipe for chaos.
Howe you feeling Eddie?
For some Premier League managers, watching your assistant guide your team to back-to-back comprehensive victories while you are stuck in hospital could be cause for concern.
While you would probably be ecstatic with the results, cheering every goal as it goes in, at the back of your mind you would be a tiny bit worried that the club’s owners, not always the most rational of beings, would start doubting your worth.
That is exactly the situation Eddie Howe finds himself in, having been taken to
hospital with pneumonia and leaving Jason Tindall to mind the shop. And mind it he has, guiding Newcastle United to a 4-1 demolition of Manchester United, followed by a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace.
Of course, in Howe’s case, I doubt he is overly concerned. Having steered Newcastle to their first trophy in 70 years just a couple of weeks ago, I would say he has one of the most secure jobs in world football right now.
But that isn’t always the case.
I remember reading in one manager’s biography how he had gone to hospital for an emergency operation of some sort and, as he lay their recuperating, had listened on the radio as his team went on to win not one, but three matches in his absence, guided by his assistant.
He recovered, went back to work, had a bit of a poor run of results, and was unceremoniously sacked... to be replaced by his former assistant.
It could all be coincidence, of course. But it’s much more likely that the club’s owners saw the two sets of results and jumped to all sorts of warped conclusions.
As I said, none of this is really applicable to Howe, who is currently as close to unsackable as it is possible to get.
But, on the other hand, don’t be surprised if Tindall – who is undoubtedly on course for an unexpected and bizarre Manager of the Month award – starts to have aspirations of managing his own team...
Villa are well and truly back
They might not have achieved their ultimate goal of making the Champions League semi-finals last Tuesday night, but Aston Villa unquestionably proved they are not out of place at this level.
It had been more than four decades since Villa’s last appearance in Europe’s premier competition, but victories against the likes of Bayern Munich in the earlier rounds, plus the thrilling 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain show they belong.
Yes, they fell just short at the end of the day, going out 5-4 on aggregate. But the scoreline doesn’t really do justice to the bravery, fight and endeavour shown by Unai Emery’s side, who were 5-1 down at one stage.
The really encouraging thing for Villa supporters is that this feels like the beginning of a new era. This wasn’t a club fluking their way into the Champions League and having a one-season adventure, it was the European awakening of a sleeping giant.
While I have no doubt there will be plenty more CL campaigns in the coming decade, especially if Emery continues to build on the brilliant foundations he has put in place, his challenge now is to try and make sure the next one is next season.
At the time of writing they are in seventh place but only one point behind fifth, which now secures a place in next season’s tournament. And with six games to go that is a gap they can certainly close.
The only doubt really is how the players respond to Tuesday night’s near-miss. Will they be crushed and demoralised? Or will the fact that they came so close drive them on to make sure they have another crack at it next season?
Let’s face it, with the obvious exception of the final result, it was a pretty magical night for everyone involved with Villa. And that should be more than enough to motivate the players, and the supporters, to strive for more of the same next season.
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