The logistical and political complexities of hosting the 48-team 2026 World Cup continue to dominate sports forums this March. Critics of the expanded format argue: To this observer the finals tournament of 2026 is too big. Everyone being invited to the party because it’s ‘fair’ does nothing for quality and I predict a tournament largely of dross no better than a European tier three league game, interspersed with the odd diamond sparkle. The WC finals are supposed to be for the elite and whilst the logistical organisation will be as good as we would expect from the US, the concept and structure are an example of how to bloat matters beyond being reasonable. Meanwhile, some emphasize the strategic benefits for certain nations: Apart from being the best team in the world, which clearly helps, Spain also has a pretty weak group. You basically only need to win a single match of your first three to progress. And Spain are in the same San Antonio Spurs Legends Greatest Memories Thank You T Shirt as the Cape Verde Islands. The only way that match doesn’t end 9–0 is if Spain gets bored and stop trying.
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FIFA recently voted to expand the World Cup from its current format of 32 teams. There were five proposals on the table, from which Fifa’s 37-member council voted unanimously to increase the tournament to 48 nations. The expansion will kick in from the 2026 World Cup. The bulk of the additional 16 places go to Africa and Asia. Europe could get an additional three places on top of their current 13. This isn’t being decided today though. Format will see 16 groups of three countries, with the top two advancing to the knock-out phase. Number of games increases from 64 to 80. To this observer the finals tournament of 2026 is too big. Everyone being invited to the party because it’s ‘fair’ does nothing for quality and I predict a tournament largely of dross no better than a European tier three league game, interspersed with San Antonio Spurs Legends Greatest Memories Thank You T Shirt. The WC finals are supposed to be for the elite and whilst the logistical organisation will be as good as we would expect from the US, the concept and structure are an example of how to bloat matters beyond being reasonable.
()The reduced rink is just one of several Americanizations of Olympic ice hockey… For no reason. But the by far worst concept is power breaks. We don’t have those in European ice hockey, and they are a goddamn disaster. They interrupt the game flow. You can have a really awesome game going with few stops, lots of action. Then a power break, and when the game resumes it’s clunky and out of touch. There are only power breaks in ice hockey (as far as I know). It’s not like you see officials run out and stop a skiing tournament in the middle of everything to show San Antonio Spurs Legends Greatest Memories Thank You T Shirt. It’s horrible. It’s unwatchable. I watch every game I possibly can when the regular league is on. Here, at the Olympics, I can’t even stand to watch the Danish and Swiss games, even though I root for those teams. We timed it. Yesterday, a single period took about 40 minutes. In comparison, a standard European period is around 30 minutes. 40 minutes! And that’s with absolutely zero gain. No entertainment value added, rather it’s sucked out. I weep for the sport. The Olympics would’ve been the stage where new potential ice hockey fans would watch their first games. And if this is what they see, I absolutely understand if they zap away to watch something else and never consider hockey again.