BBC SPORT | Football | South America 2006 puzzle



By Tim Vickery BBC Sport Online

South America will decide the format for qualification for the 2006 World Cup on Tuesday.

Last July the South American Federation decided that the continent's World Cup qualifiers would for the third time see all 10 countries playing each other home and away.

When they meet again, an attempt will be made to backtrack on the decision.

The appeal of the marathon format is obvious - everyone plays the continent's two glamour sides Brazil and Argentina.

Directors can dream of full stadia and full coffers with the television stations paying through the nose for the rights to broadcast the matches.

Argentina have already sold their rights on the basis of having nine home fixtures.

But South America's current economic crisis has hit advertising revenue, forcing down what the television companies are prepared to pay.

And some football associations have found the market prepared to pay only around 50% of the fee charged for the last set of World Cup qualifiers.

Now there is a movement inside the Federation in favour of a return to the previous system, where the 10 countries were divided into groups.

Bolivia and Uruguay are believed to be pushing for such a change and will attempt to gain support for their position.

The best argument in favour of South America's one big group format is that the overall quality of football has improved as a result.

Ecuador are an excellent example.

Under the previous group system they only ever won five qualifiers.

Ivan Kaviedes of Ecuador
Marathon format has helped Ecuador

When the marathon format was introduced for the France 98 competition they showed an instant advance winning six games.

The increase in competitive matches helped them grow in confidence, tactical awareness and team spirit.

In the last campaign their nine victories put them in second place and they made it through to their first World Cup.

Their success left Venezuela as the only South American country never to have qualified.

But under the one big group format they too have made tremendous strides, and have cast off their traditional tag of whipping boys.

They will enter the next campaign with real hopes of causing an upset.

They owe such hopes to the fact that the one group format allows them to compete with the big guns on equal terms.

A shorter campaign leaves empty dates, where it is easy for the likes of Brazil and Argentina to secure high profile friendlies.

It is not so easy for Venezuela.

But when they are in constant action, when they can build a team, then they can dream of victory, and South American football is the stronger for it.


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