Infantino’s plans are bad news for football
FIFA’S World Cup expansion plans have been hailed as a chance for Scotland to finally reclaim a seat at football’s top table.
We should be ashamed to be thinking that way.
If the talked- of expansion from 32 to 48 teams occurs, there would be no glory in arriving at the 2026 World Cup via the back door.
It would be embarrassing to scrape through that way – to be one of the “not-good-enoughto-make-it-when-it-was-a-real-test” brigade.
If we don’t have it in us to get there, we simply don’t have it in us.
The right response from the SFA would be to look at what has gone wrong, put a plan in place to fix it, then execute that plan.
They have failed to do that since France 98 – and that’s something they should hang their heads over.
As for FIFA, and its new president, Gianni Infantino, they should be nursing a serious beamer too.
It’s as clear as day what’s behind this sudden push for making the World Cup easier to access for football’s also-rans. And it isn’t football. Infantino is playing politics. It’s as simple as that.
Nobody watches the World Cup to see cricket scores. Fans want competitive games
When he was pushing to win the election to succeed Sepp Blatter, World Cup expansion was one of his “policies”.
Why? It’s a vote winner, particularly amongst federations that want more World Cup action.
If he can effectively say to them: “Vote for me and I’ll make it easier for your teams to get to the tournament”, he’s building himself a firm base of support.
Initially, Infantino said he wanted to allow 40 teams in.
Now’s it’s moved to 48, and he says the federations are “overwhelmingly” in favour of the change. For me, that’s crazy. The World Cup is the greatest event in the football calendar because it is a showcase for the best international sides in the world.
It’s a stage for the best players, in the best teams, with the best managers, to go toe-totoe with each other.
Start chucking cannon fodder in there – and that’s what an expansion of 16 teams would require – and the sense of occasion would be totally diluted.
Nobody watches the World Cup to see cricket scores. Fans want tight, attractive, competitive games.
There’s also enough pressure on the world’s top players as it stands.
The very best already play pretty much
year-round, given the demands of domestic, European and international football.
That’s why Bayern Munich chairman, KarlHeinz Rummenigge – in his guise as a big cheese on the European Club Association (ECA) board – isn’t happy.
He reckons the number of games top players are being asked to play is too great, and that FIFA need to take responsibility for their health. I think he’s spot on. The German has been painted as a spoiler, particularly in Scotland.
Given his involvement in the top European clubs’ plans to kick Scottish clubs out of the Champions League, that’s understandable.
That particular plan is something he’s in the wrong about.
But he’s spot-on about the World Cup, and he certainly played in enough of them to
appreciate the tournament’s value. By trying to expand it, Mr Infantino is putting commerce and politics before football.
That is not what FIFA should be about these days – not after the dark, corrupt days of Sepp Blatter’s reign.
The former president’s last days saw the World Cup awarded to Russia and Qatar, both rotten decisions that summed up why he had to go.
Infantino came in promising change and transparency.
This sort of political pandering is not the kind of change football needs.
If Infantino wants to refute that motive, he needs to be transparent, something we’ve yet to see from him.
It’s another mess for FIFA, and one they need to fix.
As for Scotland, our fix is long overdue.