Football is a sport that fascinates billions of people around the world. The beautiful game is unique in that way. It belongs to all of us, players, fans, and stakeholders alike.
Sadly, not everyone agrees with that sentiment. Some believe the sport is theirs alone.
The way European fans, in particular, have snubbed the current FIFA Club World Cup in an elitist manner is just the latest example of that.
The FIFA Club World Cup
Of course, there are many valid and constructive criticisms of the tournament, but the operative word is “constructive”.
One can, of course, bemoan the extremely congested match calendar or the way the world governing body chooses the competition’s participants, although it is impossible to address the latter issue perfectly and to everyone’s satisfaction.
Hans-Joachim Watzke, the CEO of Borussia Dortmund, recently made some headlines in Germany when he correctly pointed out the elephant in the room when it comes to most critics of the historic tournament in the United States by saying that “football doesn’t just belong to us Europeans”.
Watzke pointed to the interests of other confederations within FIFA. Of course, they have a right to allow their clubs to compete against the best in the world.
To be fair, though, we must also point out that club officials like the Dortmund boss certainly have a financial incentive of their own to defend the Club World Cup, which adds large sums of prize money into the accounts of participating teams, like Borussia Dortmund.
Even so, the sentiment that Watzke expressed is still valid.
At the same time, it is also clear without a shadow of a doubt that FIFA, UEFA, other confederations, and national associations around the world don’t always act in the best interest of the game.
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The FIFA World Cup and Women’s World Cup Expansions
The expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams from next summer’s tournament on can hardly be sold as a decision in favour of football. It enlarges the tournament, increasing the number of games at the expense of quality.
It further increases the match load for players, while also making it all but impossible for fans to follow the entire tournament, with its now hundreds of games.
The decision to also expand the Women’s World Cup to 48 sides from 2031 was especially negative.
The women’s game is growing at a phenomenal pace, to be sure, but artificially inflating its signature FIFA tournament before the game has developed enough around the globe is just a moneymaking scheme on the part of the world governing body.
It also ensures that there will be multiple matches with double-digit blowout wins for the favourites, which helps no one.
But the same could certainly also be the case in the men’s game as well. Especially now that teams from Oceania have been granted an automatic spot in the World Cup and a potential second berth through the Intercontinental qualifying playoffs as well.
Final Thoughts
Of course, the game has to continue to grow, everywhere around the globe. But that must be done responsibly, without overburdening players and inconveniencing fans.
Football belongs to everyone, but it especially belongs to the boys and girls who are growing up playing in the sport. That is something that stakeholders and football bureaucrats must always keep in mind.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sportimage
Recording Date: 24.06.2025