Day 7 - The Structure of World Football: Continents, Competitions, and Championships (National Team)

Topic Point: With the upcoming World Cup, there will be a lot of focus onnational teams. Most club seasons are off during the summer months so there isno need for the soccer fan to split attention.The National Team squad that arrives in North America for each country isselected from a pool of players that were invited to training camp and playedin other recent competitions; competitions that receive little to no coveragein US sports news. The 26-player roster for the World Cup is unlikely to havehad the same combination of 26 in these previous competitions. As mentionedyesterday, the World Cup qualifying process is long, grueling, and playedsimultaneously with Club seasons and competitions. There are also National Teamcompetitions and friendlies that occur during this period, too! Players willleave their clubs, typically during the established International Breaks, toplay for their country.

Aside from World Cup Qualifying, and theWorld Cup if a team qualifies, the major competition for a national team is theirconfederation Cup. Each continental confederation has a Cup.

Ted Lasso: Asidefrom the Roy Kent 2014 World Cup jersey, in S3E10 “International Break”,several of the AFC Richmond players are selected to represent their countriesfor a match. As international/national team football is not a major componentto the show, no specific cups/competitions are referenced. Most likely thesematches are friendlies. Seemingly insignificant (and even a potential waste oftime), even friendlies have value. The players that make it into the match earna “Cap” (see Glossary of Terms in Appendix 1). Also, these matches are valuableopportunities for the team to develop, provide experience and opportunity to youngerplayers, try tactics, and coordinate different rosters and lineups.

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Soccer-related note: CONCACAF and UEFA are the only federations to hold two Cups. TheNations League Cup for these two associations are a new phenomenon, designed toreplace friendlies and make national team games more meaningful. The nationalteams are divided into tiered leagues based on their world ranking, with promotion/relegationat the end of the season. A team’s performance in this league can impactqualification for the primary cup tournament in these regions (Gold Cup orEuro) as well as the World Cup.  

American Sports comparison: Domestically there is no comparison. However, ice hockey,basketball, and baseball have international competitions organized by therespective governing bodies:

International Basketball Federation (FIBA)– FIBA Basketball World Cup, Olympics, Regional Championships for 5 zones (TheAmericas are combined into one zone).

World Baseball Softball Confederation(WBSC) – World Baseball Classic, Women’s Softball World Cup, Olympics

International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)– IIHF World Championship (annual), Olympics, World Cup of Hockey (invitationalrather than true World Cup)

American football does not have aninternational opportunity aside from the NFL holding games in other countries.The international competitions for basketball and baseball seem to have reducedfanfare compared to viewership of the NBA and MLB.

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