Concacaf / Conmebol Qualification

[pro_euroleague]

Dear Peoplez,

why won't we fuse Conmebol and Concacaf in to one big WC Qualification Circus, with 8 WC-Tickets on play.

This would be my structure (with a possible draw):

FIRST ROUND

10 worst countries of Concacaf/conmebol compete in two legged games against each other (to have some luck-element in it, I watched the latest result between the teams, the winner was through. If there wasn't a latest result I let through the highest rank). It was an open draw.

Anguilla - Bahamas*
Montserrat - Bermuda*
Netherlands Antilles* - US Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico - Aruba*
Dominica* - Turks and Caicos Islands

SECOND ROUND

With all winners from the first round + all other teams except the 8 highest ranked. Open draw.

Belize* - Dominica
Bermuda* - Barbados
Dominican republic - El Salvador*
Peru - Trinidad and Tobago*
Bahamas - St Vincent and Grenadines*
Jamaica - Honduras*
Aruba - Cuba*
Antigua and Barbuda* - Saint Kitts and Nevis
Colombia* - Haiti
Cayman Islands* - Netherlands Antilles
Saint Lucia - Chile*
Guyana - Panama*
Grenada - Surinam*
Nicaragua - Venezuela*
Canada* - British Virgin islands
Guatemale* - Bolivia

THIRD ROUND

With all winners of the second round + eight seeded

The draw will be done with 3 pots (on FIFA-ranking)

Pot A: Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, USA and Ecuador

Pot B: Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Guatemale, Honduras, Canada

Pot C: El Salvador, Antigua, Panama, Cayman Islands, Surinam, Bermuda, St Vincent and Belize

Possible outcome (draw-try-out)

Group A:

Brazil
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Canada
Surinam
Bermuda

Group B:

Paraguay
United States
Cuba
Chile
Antigua and Barbuda
St Vincent and Grenadines

Group C:

Uruguay
Ecuador
Trinidad and Tobago
Guatemale
El Salvador
Belize

Group D:

Argentina
Mexico
Colombia
Honduras
Panama
Cayman Islands

With Group "Group of death"

[condor11]

peru would beat trinidad

[Qdog]

Not a bad idea, but it will never happen. Reason: $$$

[picaraza]

You Dutch are true visionaries. Its as if hash were legal there or something....

I'd love to see it.

Qdog are you sure that the money would not be there? Surely the US market would be worth something?

Besides, the Conmebol nations might be interested if all CONCACAF World Cup berths were up for grabs. Borderline SA teams already figure they are superior to the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

So, the top seven (or eight) teams go to Germany? (or South Africa 2010?)

I figure that CONCACAF would be against the plan. The way things are now they have three guaranteed plus a chance for a fourth.

Still it would be nice to watch. But US involvement in Copa America would've been fun to watch as well.

[Qdog]

Originally posted by picaraza

I'd love to see it.

Qdog are you sure that the money would not be there? Surely the US market would be worth something?



I´m confident the money would be there, but I imagine CONCACAF leadership would block it because of the money distribution. From everything I´ve read Warner is the power of the federation, with the strong support from the many Carribean island countries. This has lead to accusations of pocket lining.

The only way I see to break this ring is for the most powerful countries in CONCACAF to join forces with CONMEBOL to put preasure on the federation leadership. To do so they would need to provide some incentive to the island minnows to follow. I just don´t see any leaders in the two federations with the foresight to push for this to happen.

[SJJ]

OK, but I would first wait for Fifa to combine Oceania into the Asia qualifying first.

But to your format, you have over half (24 of 45) teams in the group stage. A bit much. I would go for 20 or 16.

Twenty teams would have either four five-team groups, where one team is off each matchday, or five four-team groups, with the five winners qualifying, and some kind of playoffs for the second place teams (either the best second is in, and have four teams in playoffs, or the five second place teams would be joined by a team from another confederation in the playoffs).

[Qdog]

I wouldn´t worry about Oceania and Asia, totally different issue. As for the format, I would go with 15 groups of three with the group winners being broke down to 3 5-team groups. Third place teams would play a round robin in a neutral country for the last two spots.

14 games for the top 15, 16 for three of them.

[Concacaf]

I totally disagree. Why would they play together if they are 2 different continents? And 2 different federations! I dont see a single good point. Why not play Africa and Asia together then? Or Europe and Asia which used to be a single continental mass millions of years ago.

There is already a tournament which gets the best of the best to compete agaisnt each other and that is the WC. The USA, CR are constantly being invited to the Copa America and Mexico is a permanent participant from what i last remember, so there u can compare each federation. And the top S. American team gets to play in the GOld Cup and brazil is normally invited.

CONMEBOL and Concacaf have long enough WCQs as they are, why make them even longer? ANd in case u would like to do something like the Europeans wihch has different groups and only the best qualify and second best from each group have to play a play off that really sux, many times the more deserving teams dont make it if they are drawned in a particularly difficult group.

Our qualification might be long.. but at the end the best 3 always qualify since they have to play each and every top team. This is the most importnat point.

Let me illustrate for u. One year the USA, Honduras, Jamaica and Belice are in the same group. Well it just happens that Honduras played really well and Jamaica had an excepcional team.. the USA finished 3 and is out of the world cup qualifier. Meanwhile if the had played the long hex as we do now they would end 4th. behind Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica.. the best 3 teams qualify and the 4th (USA) can play the play off.. In this way our federations truely sends the best teams.

keep things as they are.. CONMEBOL in the South and us in the North.. separated as you can see in the map.

A truely Copa America, which would be merger between the current Copa America and Gold CUp would make more sense.

[oipunk]

I don't think it would be fair for CONCACAF teams, there's an obvious difference in quality and experience, CONCACAF teams would get slaughtered year after year, and it would be an economic disaster for smaller central american and caribbean teams to be travelling back and forth around the continent.

I say keep WCQ as they are, but give places to CONCACAF teams in the Copa America and Libertadores.

[Ronaldo+10]

Originally posted by oipunk
I don't think it would be fair for CONCACAF teams, there's an obvious difference in quality and experience, CONCACAF teams would get slaughtered year after year, and it would be an economic disaster for smaller central american and caribbean teams to be travelling back and forth around the continent.

I say keep WCQ as they are, but give places to CONCACAF teams in the Copa America and Libertadores.

I agree with you in the first half, the logistics would deffinetly be a problem. Regarding Copa America, from what I understand there has to be 2 invited teams to complete the 12. So either way someone must be invited and concacaf teams usually get their share. But regarding Libertadores I disagree with you, it's great as it is and should be left as such !!!! Besides Mexico, Conmebol benefits very little from inviting Concacaf teams.

[oipunk]

Well, maybe the Conmebol wouldn't benefit from having central american, or MLS teams in the Libertadores, but they should at least have a place in another competition, like they did before in the 'Copa Merconorte', where mexican and mls teams always had good participation, even, LD Alajuelense from Costa Rica, which was invited once, did suprisingly well and ended up in the 5th place.

[Concacaf]

Originally posted by oipunk
Well, maybe the Conmebol wouldn't benefit from having central american, or MLS teams in the Libertadores, but they should at least have a place in another competition,

Really? Why "should" they? WHy are they obliged to work alongside Concacaf or invite us to the competitions they finance? Do we invite any of their teams to our competitions? No. Do we contribute economically to their federations? No.

Maybe the phrase you were looking for was "it would be nice" instead of "they should".

I am sure some of the top teams in Concacaf would fair surprisingly well in CONMEBOL competitions but we must remember these are their competitions and they can do as they please with them. we are after all just invited and have no saying.