CONCACAF Nations League - A new competition for national teams

Discussion in 'CONCACAF' started by Blue Lou, Mar 22, 2017.

  1. Blue Lou

    Blue Lou Member

    Nov 13, 2006
    This is to be discussed next month.

    http://www.concacaf.com/wp-content/...F-Ordinary-Congress-Agenda-English-3.6.17.pdf

    ----

    http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170318/more-teams-gold-cup-2019
     
    EvanJ repped this.
  2. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The CONCACAF page says 2017/03 in the URL like it was made this month, but it says "April 8, 2016," so I think CONCACAF put the wrong year.
     
  3. Footsatt

    Footsatt Member+

    Apr 8, 2008
    Michigan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #4 Footsatt, Apr 10, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2017
    So would WCQ be tied into this nations league?

    I have not looked into how UEFA is doing this... for them will WCQ and nations league be 2 separate tournaments?

    Edit: Answering my own question... It looks like the UEFA nations league will not be linked to WCQ, but it is linked to EURO Qualifying.
     
  4. Robert Borden

    Robert Borden Member+

    Chelsea
    Canada
    Apr 19, 2017
    Toronto, Ontario
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    http://www.northernstartingeleven.com/the-nations-league-is-good-for-everyone/

    The Nations League is Good For Everyone

    Right now there are three big stories dominating CONCACAF talk: the World Cup bid, CPL, and the Nations League. While the first two have gotten a great deal of ink, the third has mainly been relegated to articles explaining why it is “bad for CONCACAF” or will “kill US soccer”. I’ve decided to explain why the league isn’t bad but I fact a great thing for the region and Canada.

    Firstly let’s talk about why this is happening: nations struggle to secure games during international windows. As a result of this they not only lack the chance to improve on the field but they also lack the ability to attract sponsor dollars that could go to improving their FAs. Bermuda (who have played 11 games since 2012) have one main sponsor. The lack of games does interfere with the ability to attract new ones.

    So why don’t they arrange friendlies? Partly because of the tourism industry. In order to host a friendly, you need to provide accommodation and many nations can’t because all the hotels are booked during international windows. Finding accommodation becomes a matter of chance. A number of CONCACAF nations face this issue.

    Another is the lack of facilities. Anguilla FA president Raymond Guishard informed me that the nation has one field shared by both the men’s and women’s leagues along with the youth and school leagues. In order to arrange a friendly everything needs to stop and the field needs to be tended to prior to an international match. This situation is shared by a number of nations in CONCACAF.

    Canceling every soccer event in your nation when you can’t guarantee you’ll be able to host doesn’t make sense.

    The creation of a Nations League would provide nations like Anguilla a window well in advance to prepare for games. The risk of a lack of field readiness and hotel rooms is almost completely removed.

    Guishard is excited by the prospect of the Nations League and believes it will help nations like Anguilla improve.

    “It could really help us get better,” said Guishard.

    The second big issue is that nations (eg. The United States) will be playing in groups that are too weak to help them improve. This point is easily debunked. The Nations League will be tiered with pro/rel. Guishard explained that teams will be broken into groups based on strength and the best teams will move up from their group. A nation like the US will not be playing Anguilla or Turks and Caicos, as many American writers fear, but instead Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago. There is no reason for the larger FAs to fear.

    Canada falls into an interesting place. It’s not quite a regional power but it’s not a minor nation either. It’s likely Canada will play the role of a yo-yo nation (if the league is set up like UEFA’s), hovering between the top and second tier. While some might not see playing the second-tier nations aiding Canada’s improvement, it’s important that we remember Canada’s track record against these nations isn’t that great. Canada was unable to beat either El Salvador and Belize on their turf and had to settle for a tie with the former in the 2015 Gold Cup, where Canada lost to likely fellow yo-yo nation Jamaica. The Nations League will offer Canada a chance to improve on its weaker elements against the appropriate competition.

    Canada also goes through long periods without meaningful soccer. The creation of the Nations League will possibly end that as it has been suggested the league would be used to decide who is in the Gold Cup and even when a nation enters World Cup qualifying. This would mean players could be capped locked and Canada could benefit from a massive boost.

    It will also offer more games played in Canada, thus growing the team’s popularity and generating revenue.

    It builds the sport across the continent, adds matches to the calendar (Bermuda could go from 11 matches in five years to 36 in four), generates money (both from ticket sales and sponsorships), eases the technical issues many nations face and gets everyone playing all the time. There really is no reason to not want this tournament.

    The Nations League will be starting up in 2018 according to Guishard and we should all be excited for this new chapter in CONCACAF history.
     
    Athlone and Footsatt repped this.
  5. Footsatt

    Footsatt Member+

    Apr 8, 2008
    Michigan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    it looks like you didn't write this and pulled it from the linked site??? If this is indeed the case then you shouldn't copy the entire article into a BigSoccer post. It's ok to copy some of an article, but not all of it.
     
  6. Robert Borden

    Robert Borden Member+

    Chelsea
    Canada
    Apr 19, 2017
    Toronto, Ontario
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    my bad, I'll remember next time
     
  7. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The reason you are not allowed to copy a whole article is that the writer is entitled to have people go to the source website (and see any ads it has) rather than having the article reproduced elsewhere.
     
  8. gringolimon

    gringolimon Member

    Club Bolívar
    Bolivia
    Sep 12, 2007
    White Plains, NY
    Club:
    Bolivar La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    This news is mostly about the South American tournament, Copa America, but I mentioned the League of Nations. I apologize for this post for those not interested. Have a good one everyone!

    After reading various online legitimate newspapers on this matter (both in English and Spanish; from both South American and Europe), I'm 99% sure that this is how it's going to go down from now until the next 2 decades at least...

    Starting with this upcoming 2019 Copa America, which will be held in Brasil, all future tournaments will have 16 nations participating. The tournament in Brasil will be the last one that will be held in an odd year. In order to 'reset' the tournament right away and have it coincide with the Euro (apparently FIFA is in favor of this because European clubs will have to release their international players only one summer instead of two consecutive summers), they will have a Copa America in 2020 in the USA (because, among others things, of their financial success with the Copa America Centenario 2016). As for those who are questioning what kind of teams will the European nations bring for 2019, I think that being how this Copa America will probably be the only and last tournament (at least for while) that will have European nations, I'm thinking that these nations would love to 'steal' one from South America; wouldn't that be a punch in the face, especially in Brasil of all place. Anyway, going forward, Conmebol will introduce a new scheduling format as to who will host the subsequent Copa Americas, which on a personal level, gives me hope... IMHO, Bolivia's 'rotational' spot was taken away unfairly and so I hope this 'reset' will give Bolivia an opportunity to get it back and get it back soon... hopefully as soon as 2024!

    If this is accurate, then I don't think there will be another 'Copa America Centenario' for a while (at least by name, host, and if it would ever return) but I think the 2020 Copa America will mirror the Centenario from 2016 and it will be just a great, if not better, since it will once again not 'compete' with the Gold Cup so USA, Mexico, and other North and/or Central American nations could bring their 'A' team if they chose to do so. In fact, since the Copa America would now fall in an even year, USA, Mexico, and company could continue to bring their 'A' team (again, if they chose to do so).

    From a level of play standpoint, I think this a great move as every continental tournament will potentially have the 'A' team for every participant. What's more, starting in 2020, when we don't have the summer of the World Cup, we can enjoy two tournaments of nations every summer and it would most likely be more competitive than before.

    This 'guaranteed' 2 tourneys every summer (with the highest level of play) would include the League of Nations that Europe will be introducing in 2018. It will be a promotion/relegation type of tournament that will have it's 'pool stage' from September to November and it's 'Final Four' competition in June. There are talks of Concacaf (and I'm sure Conmebol would soon follow afterwards) in creating their own League of Nations. If this happens (I'm sure it will), this will be eliminate 'friendlies' and their 'lack of importance. All those events plus the World Cup qualifying matches, it pretty much guarantees a higher level of competition/tournaments for us to enjoy every year.

    To get a visual idea of what I'm talking about, this is what it would look like...

    2017 Gold Cup / Confederations Cup
    2018 World Cup / League of Nations (UEFA Pool Stage)
    2019 Copa America Brasil / Gold Cup / League of Nations (UEFA Final Four)
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2020 Copa America USA / Euro
    2021 Gold Cup / Confederations Cup
    2022 World Cup / League of Nations (UEFA Pool Stage)
    2023 Gold Cup / League of Nations (UEFA Final Four)
    2024 Copa America / Euro
    2025 Gold Cup / Confederations Cup
    2026 World Cup / League of Nations (UEFA Pool Stage)
     
  9. jabbaahabbaa

    jabbaahabbaa Member

    Toronto FC
    Canada
    May 12, 2017
    I'd like to hear the details of how scheduling would work before and after.

    National teams play x number of games per year. The WCC, Gold Cup and other international tournaments are not going away, so no change there. The remainder of games are generally friendly matches. How many friendly matches per year did see before, and how many will it be reduced to?

    I'm guessing people exaggerate the impact to scheduling of the larger nations, if we are talking about 3 or 4 team groups like UEFA is pursuing. Especially if there is overlap between Gold Cup qualifying and Nations league, which again UEFA is pursuing.
     
  10. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That x varies greatly from country to country. USA has played 37 friendlies in the past 4 years. Trinidad and Tobago has played 23 friendlies and 2 "friendly tournament" games in the last 4 years. Guatemala has played 19 friendlies in the past 4 years, which is about half as many as USA.
     
  11. gringolimon

    gringolimon Member

    Club Bolívar
    Bolivia
    Sep 12, 2007
    White Plains, NY
    Club:
    Bolivar La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    If the Concacaf 'LoN' will be loosely based on Uefa's, then the whole idea is to eliminate friendlies and replace it with this throughout the year. In doing so, it will make these matches more meaningful and since they it will be played among each other within Concacaf, it will eventually improve the level of play of the 'weaker' nations, which will ultimately lead a great parity within the region.
     
  12. jabbaahabbaa

    jabbaahabbaa Member

    Toronto FC
    Canada
    May 12, 2017
    My point is that based on the UEFA model, the MOST games you would play is 6 over a two year period (4 group and 2 knockout, or 6 group matches for lower levels). That is not enough to replace all friendly matches.

    People who suggest this will kill the USA, Mexico, CR, etc. because they don't play outside of CONCACAF are overstating things. Especially since they already play friendlies against each other within the Federation quite often, that would now be meaningful games. I see the benefits but I don't see any of the drawbacks others claim.
     
  13. Footsatt

    Footsatt Member+

    Apr 8, 2008
    Michigan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Montagliani shared some more info about the LoN...

    "The format, Montagliani said, will have the member associations split into several leagues, according to their strength, with promotion and relegations at the end of the four-year cycle.

    He added that the League of Nations rankings would then determine which teams qualify for the World Cup and Gold Cup. Although the competition will almost certainly mean fewer friendlies, Montagliani stressed that there would still be room in the international calendar for countries to arrange games should they wish."


    UEFA is using their LoN to qualify into EURO's, I believe they plan to keep WCQ separate. I am not sure how this would work for CONCACAF WCQ. Doe this mean the lower league teams will not be able to qualify for a WC until they move up to the "first" league after 4 or more cycles depending on how long it takes for them to get promoted?

    Take Canada for example... maybe they start out in league 3. They get promoted to league 2 after 4 years, and then get promoted to league 1 after another 4 years. This means they would have zero chance of qualifying for 8 years? This assume only league 1 teams can qualify for the WC.

    I feel WCQ should be separate from the LoN, maybe they could use LoN to determine seeding for WCQ?

    It will be interesting to see how they make this LoN work for WCQ. I think it would be fine to give the lower leagues some Gold Cup spots (UEFA is doing this), but I just cant see any team in the lower leagues getting a WC spot over a team in league 1.

    The article also mentions they plan to announce the new LoN by the end of the year.
     
  14. gringolimon

    gringolimon Member

    Club Bolívar
    Bolivia
    Sep 12, 2007
    White Plains, NY
    Club:
    Bolivar La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    Since that part of the article wasn't a direct quote, I think the writer misunderstood what Montagliani meant. I think LoN will be used only for its seeding purposes when it comes to WCQ. There's no way a 'lower' team would accept the idea that they can't participate in every WCQ... UNLESS (just came to me) what he means is that starting the '1st year' of the cycle, the lowest league would essentially be the start of WCQ 'unofficially' in that the teams that are 'promoted would remain in the hunt to participate in WCQ. You get what I mean? Since it's a 4-year cycle, what he is basically saying is that WCQ begins almost immediately after the World Cup... which is a pretty cool idea when you think about it. The league will sort of be like the Davis cup for Tennis if anyone follows that format.
     
  15. Footsatt

    Footsatt Member+

    Apr 8, 2008
    Michigan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In another thread we were discussing this article...

    It discuses what you are talking about that success in LoN could lead to a last round WCQ berth.
     
  16. gringolimon

    gringolimon Member

    Club Bolívar
    Bolivia
    Sep 12, 2007
    White Plains, NY
    Club:
    Bolivar La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    They stold my idea!! hehehe Yeaaah, I'm sure either the writer misinterpreted or Montagliani didn't really explain it well. If it's gonna be how I thought it might be, then the 'USA/Mex HEX' would remain intact but once eliminated from the WC, the remaining games for the other nations would still treated at important else they would be 'relegated' from the HEX in order to make room for other nations to be 'promoted'. All this would happen directly or indirectly but you get what I'm saying. Bottom line, at the start of the 4-year cycle (which I think would begin right after the WC) a nation from the 'lowest' league could play its way (over the course of the 4 years) onto the HEX. That and vice versa.
     
  17. EvanJ

    EvanJ Member+

    Manchester United
    United States
    Mar 30, 2004
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    All countries should get to attempt World Cup qualifying every time. Panama was the 13th in CONCACAF in the FIFA Rankings when the World Cup 2006 qualifying draw was, and they reached the Hexagonal. If the final round of World Cup qualifying has only 6 teams, and some teams start in that round, there would have to be previous group stages where only 1 out of 4 teams advanced. I'll try to come up with a qualifying format for 35 teams with the final round having 12 teams of which 6 start in that round.

    Round 1: Teams 24-35 play in 3 groups of 4. The 3 winners advance and 9 teams are eliminated. Including teams that haven't started, 26 teams are left.

    Round 2: Teams 11-23 (13 teams) and 3 Round 1 winners play in 4 groups of 4. The top two in each group advance. 8 teams advance and 8 teams are eliminated. Including teams that haven't started, 18 teams are left.

    Round 3: Teams 7-10 (4 teams) and 8 teams from Round 2 play in 3 groups of 4. The top two in each group advance. 6 teams advance and 6 teams are eliminated. Including teams that haven't started, 12 teams are left.

    Round 4: Teams 1-6 (6 teams) and 6 teams from Round 3 play in 2 groups of 6.

    I'm not saying my format is perfect, but it has all groups in the same round having the same amount of teams playing and advancing, which isn't easy with an odd amount of teams.
     
    gringolimon repped this.
  18. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's my $0.02 on this, the future of the Gold Cup, and the int'l calendar:

    First, I believe little will change before 2022, i.e. the 2021 Confederations Cup will happen, if for no other reason than FIFA not wanting to cut off another arm to appease TV networks like they did with the 2022 WC rescheduling. The 2017 and 2019 Gold Cups will take place in order to produce a CONCACAF representative for the Confed Cup.

    After that...Infantino will almost certainly sacrifice the Confed Cup at the altar of the expanded WC finals. With this, and CONMEBOL moving to a quadrennial Copa América in even years (2020 onward), I wonder a) how much pressure FIFA will put on the remaining confederations (i.e. the CAF, the AFC and CONCACAF) to follow suit, and b) what will happen in the summer of 2025, 2029, etc. It's one thing for FIFA to say that the WCQ playoffs will be the test event for the host nation...but do we really think FIFA will just let a summer go by w/o any major footballing activity? And if they start with a biennial CWC from 2023 onwards, then I really hope the European superclubs will admit that their objections to the Confed Cup weren't about player fatigue, but about players being fatigued while not making them money.

    I digress...so the 2022 World Cup cycle is over, the Confed Cup is no more, and CONCACAF and CONMEBOL have somehow reached an agreement with FIFA's blessing for an expanded Copa América every four years in the now-standard "confederation championship" window in the middle of each WC cycle (2024, 2028, 2032, etc.). What happens to the Gold Cup? It's no mystery that the Copa América surpasses it in history, prestige and relevance; and CONCACAF could not afford to have six teams sending B-sides to the Copa América because of a Gold Cup that same summer. On the other hand, CONCACAF has/wants to get money from somewhere, and I highly doubt that their cut of the Copa América revenues is greater then what they're currently making from two Gold Cups every WC cycle.

    This is where the League of Nations **snicker** could step in: we could have it that in the two years between the WC and the confederation championship (e.g. 2022 to 2024), CONCACAF basically sets up the LoN as 3 tiers of Gold Cups, being played home-and-away all the way through on FIFA matchdays. That way, you would have have everyone playing meaningful games up to the end (i.e. few dead rubbers), fill out the qualification for the Copa América, and still make CONCACAF that dough (USA-Mexico final in Dallas/LA and the Azteca? That'll pay for Montagliani's retirement! :D ) Then, we would set up WCQ from 2024 to 2026 with a more quickfire, egalitarian format (e.g. playoffs to narrow the field to 18 --> 3 groups of 6, top two in each go to WC finals [or winner of each for 2026 w/NAFTA already qualified], two best 3rd-placers play off for WCQ playoff berth).

    How I would envision it:

    LoN tier 1: top 12 in CONCACAF split into 4 groups of 3.

    • Top two in each group + two best 3rd-placers go to quarterfinals.
    • Worst 3rd-placer and the three 4th-placers get drawn into playoffs; two losers get relegated.
    • Quarterfinal winners move on to semis and Final, qualify for Copa América
    • Quarterfinal losers get drawn into playoffs; winners qualify for Copa América
    LoN tier 2: 13 through 24 in CONCACAF split into 4 groups of 3.

    • Top two in each group + two best 3rd-placers go to quarterfinals.
    • Worst 3rd-placer and the three 4th-placers get drawn into playoffs; two losers get relegated.
    • Quarterfinal winners move on to semis; semifinalist winners move on to Final, and both are promoted.
    LoN tier 3: 25 through 40 in CONCACAF split into 4 groups of 4

    • Playoff to whittle the total field down to 16 (i.e. CONCACAF #40 vs. #41, #39 vs. an eventual #42, etc.)
    • Top two in each group move on to quarterfinals --> semifinals --> Final; both finalists get promoted

    The next LoN would then be played 2026-2028 (feeding in to the 2028 Copa América), 2030-2032, etc.
     
    Footsatt and gringolimon repped this.
  19. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Plus, since I'm a complete nerd, here goes a mock grouping for the inaugural LoN - using current FIFA rankings, dropping the suspended Guatemala, sticking Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana right in the middle and the remaining non-FIFA-recognized teams at the bottom:

    LoN Tier 1

    Group 1

    USA
    Haiti
    Jamaica
    Antigua and Barbuda

    Group 2

    Mexico
    Panama
    Curaçao
    Nicaragua

    Group 3

    Costa Rica
    Honduras
    Trinidad and Tobago
    St. Kitts and Nevis

    LoN Tier 2

    Group 1

    Suriname
    Guyana
    Martinique
    Cuba

    Group 2

    El Salvador
    Puerto Rico
    Guadeloupe
    Dominican Republic

    Group 3

    Canada
    Belize
    French Guiana
    Grenada

    LoN Tier 3

    Group 1

    Aruba
    Dominica
    British Virgin Islands
    Bahamas

    Group 2

    St. Lucia
    Bermuda
    Montserrat
    Saint-Martin

    Group 3

    St. Vincent and the Grenadines
    US Virgin Islands
    Anguilla
    Sint-Maarten

    Group 4

    Barbados
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    Cayman Islands
    Bonaire
     
  20. Footsatt

    Footsatt Member+

    Apr 8, 2008
    Michigan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #21 Footsatt, Jul 7, 2017
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2017
    Nice post... I am trying to get the calendar straight in my head. is this what you are proposing?

    2022 WC
    ------------------------------- new cycle
    2023/24 CONCACAF LoN
    2023 Club WC
    2024 Copa
    2025 WCQ
    2025 Club WC
    2025 WC Playoff*
    2026 WC
    -------------------------------- cycle starts over
    2027/28 CONCACAF LoN
    2027 Club WC
    2028 Copa
    2029 WCQ
    2029 Club WC
    2029 WC Playoff*
    2030 WC

    *this is a real small tourney against 6 teams that are mostly ranked poorly, and basically just 2 match days.
     
  21. Paul Calixte

    Paul Calixte Moderator
    Staff Member

    Orlando City SC
    Apr 30, 2009
    Miami, FL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes.

    Btw...

    Fmop :D
     
  22. NaBUru38

    NaBUru38 Member+

    Mar 8, 2016
    Las Canteras, Uruguay
    Club:
    Club Nacional de Football
    I don't see the difference between the Nations League and the World Cup qualifier.
     
    jagum repped this.
  23. Footsatt

    Footsatt Member+

    Apr 8, 2008
    Michigan
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Look into how UEFA is planning their nations league.

    Nothing has been announced yet on how CONCACAF will organize it's Nations League, but if it is anything like UEFAs then here is the how I see the differences.

    WCQ is every 4 years, all teams participate and enter the WCQ tournament at different rounds, narrowing to 4 (3.5 winners). Some teams play as little as 1 home and away series and are eliminated.

    Nations League will be every 4 years. If its like UEFAs then their will be 3 or 4 Leagues. Each league will have groups with 3 or 4 teams in each group... all teams play a minimum of 4 to 6 games. Winner of each group in each league play against each other in a playoff to determine the league winners. Winners of groups are promoted losers are relegated (this pro / rel happens once every 4 years). UEFA playoff winners are awarded a spot in the UEROs.

    The league A group winners playoff also decides the Nations League Champion. There is one champion every 4 years, and only group A winners can be the champion of the Leagues. For example a team in group C can be promoted by winning and move on to group B in the next cycle (4 years later), but they never play group A Teams and cant be the champion unless they started in group A.

    The main difference between WCQ and LoN is lower group teams never play the best teams. If they do well and get promoted then they play better teams in the next cycle. If they do poorly and relegated then they play in the next lower league. If LoN was WCQ then lower group teams would never qualify, because they only play against teams in their league.

    UEFA is giving meaning to the lower groups by awarding them promotion and each league winner gets a spot in the UEROs. CONCACAF will have to give a reward for the winners of the lower leagues too, or the lower leagues will have nothing to play for but promotion.
     
    gringolimon repped this.
  24. gringolimon

    gringolimon Member

    Club Bolívar
    Bolivia
    Sep 12, 2007
    White Plains, NY
    Club:
    Bolivar La Paz
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    This was well written; couldn't have said it better myself. Hopefully this is just how we hope it will be for CONCACAF LoN. One thing I would like to add is that although this LoN will not have a direct effect on the WCQ process, it will in some way have an indirect effect because, since more games will be played among each other, there will be more data to feed the FIFA rankings which determine what countries at what level start the WCQ process. So there may not be at first 'rewards' for lower league winners, but since a good amount if games were played within that particular league, the league winner could have raised its FIFA ranking to the point where they would start at a higher level in the WCQ process, especially if they continue to have similar success without necessarily winning a league every year and being promoted; if they did that, they would eventually be in the top league playing for the League Champion and also entering the WCQ process at the highest level playing a spot in the HEX. That being said, there would also be the possibility of a reverse scenario.
     

Share This Page