With J Hutcherson -- Yes, we all get that FIFA's attempts to broaden the brand through new competitions hasn't exactly been what most of us would tag as a success. The FIFA Club World Cup has spent the last few years in Japan for a reason, the historic home of what most consider glorified friendlies.
Part of that is the basic construction of the competition going back to year one. It makes no sense to put a host representative in a tournament designed for Confederation club champions. It's borderline galling when that host designee actually wins the blasted thing first time out.
There's literally a world of surprise special guests for FIFA to choose from, with almost as many reasons to have them participate. How that ends up an open invite for the weaker Confederations isn't an issue for a simple reason. They're not going to make the final. Their name won't end up on the ledger of winners or runners-up. Nobody seems to trust the relative drawing power of the club version of Mexico - Ecuador played out in Japan. Go Figure.
FIFA didn't learn the lesson that even CONCACAF came around on - you don't need the special guests to pick up the competition if the special guests aren't adding anything. Brazil's Under-23's were a better choice than say South Africa, but they shouldn't be pushing for CONCACAF's championship. If they win, it's not exactly a confirmation of quality.
Europe's elite can laugh off the Club World Cup because it sets itself up for that response. We're going to assume there's money to be made regardless, but it would be nice if the controllers of the World's game might figure out a way to make this the top tournament rather than just another one. That this has been on constant refrain since the original setup was announced in 1999 notwithstanding.
For those of you wanting actual setup for your soccer, there's our FIFA World Cup Primer.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.
