Confederations Cup Controversy
by: Edda Mwangi
Should the Confederations Cup be scrapped?
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The tournament due to run from June 15 to 29 was first held in 1992 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Back then, it was known as ‘The King Faud Cup’ and was hotly contested by four teams; Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Cote D’Ivoire and the USA.
The second tournament came three years later in 1995. The venue hadn’t changed but the number of countries contending certainly had.
This time, the line up had increased to six nations representing the six major continents. Countries included: hosts Saudi Arabia, Argentina representing South America, Mexico for North America, Nigeria for Africa, Japan for Asia and Denmark for Europe.
The tournament grew steadily and in 1997, still held in Saudi Arabia, it became the first FIFA Confederations Cup. By this time the number of contestants had doubled and the tournament included teams from Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Czech Republic, UAE and South Africa.
The Confederations Cup however took a different turn during the 2001 Korea/Japan contest. This is because its host nation was also hosting that year’s World Cup and it started to be seen as a practice run for the more prestigious event. This trend seems to be continuing with Germany, this year’s host, also hosting the 2006 World Cup.
Over the years, the tournament has received limited coverage. Sadly, critics claim that the highest coverage the tournament has ever received was during the France 2003 tournament with the death of Cameroonian midfielder, Marc Vivien Foe. Foe collapsed during a semi-final game against Columbia and was announced dead later that day.
Under this backdrop, debate on the controversial tournament increased. Some officials believed that the tournament placed unnecessary strain on players from higher ranked nations who were already playing in other International fixtures.
Ardent soccer fan, Julius Mkandawire agrees with this. He says: “It tires players who compete in major competitions in the year and it doesn’t have a following like the Champions League or the EURO.”
Timing always seems to play a key role in the debate as the Confederations Cup always seems to precede the most important International Fixture; The World Cup. The tournament was thus seen to tire players who needed vacation before the World Cup.
This problem has manifested itself in terms of the player selections made by the higher ranked squads. Brazilian coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira’s recent squad selection seems to exemplify this. Despite having played in the qualifiers, players like Cafu, Roberto Carlos and midfielder Ricardinho are notably absent from the line up. This, critics believe, is a mirror of the 2003 Confederations Cup where Brazil fielded a weak squad and was eliminated in the first round.
Unfortunately, this only serves to further discredit the tournament. Supporters have often argued that the tournament gives lower ranked nations the chance to compete against the higher ranked. Teams like Australia are given the opportunity to compete against higher ranked teams such as Brazil. This purpose is defeated if a team is not fielding its best players.
Nevertheless, Australian goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer is a firm believer in the importance of the tournament. In an interview with FIFA news, he cited the fact that while Australia does defeat other higher ranked teams in soccer friendlies, they find it difficult to move up the ranking ladder.
“We've beaten many sides that were ranked above us in the FIFA rankings, but we can't seem to move up ourselves. That's why it's so important to be involved in a great tournament like the Confederations Cup.” he said.
Other supporters of the tournament believe that it offers coaches the opportunity to assess individual player’s suitability for International tournaments. Some even view it as the ideal preparation for the World Cup.
The tournament also receives a rather sentimental defence. Dedicated fans of the late Marc Vivien Foe believe that the tournament should be kept as a memorial to the famous midfielder.
Despite the raging debate soccer fans such as Austin Matale remain undeterred. While admitting that the tournament does lead to fixture crowding, he does not believe that the tournament should be scrapped. He says: “It allows for lower ranked teams to compete with the big ones and that’s important for the game.”
All the same, the tournament still survives this controversy. This year’s tournament is set to kick off on June 15 in Cologne, Germany and will be held in five different cities. Finals will be held on the June 29 in Frankfurt.
The tournament is set to feature teams from host nation Germany, Australia, Argentina, Tunisia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico and European Champions, Greece.