Football Association Pushes for Reform to Revitalize Qualifying Process
The Football Association (FA) has thrown its weight behind reforming the European qualifying format for major international tournaments in an effort to revitalize the process, which some fear has become stale. With bigger countries dominating qualification and fans and broadcasters showing dwindling interest, it's time to shake things up.
According to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, a complete overhaul of the system is necessary to keep international football exciting and fresh. He sits on a UEFA working group exploring alternative formats, with one potential solution being a "Swiss system" model similar to the Champions League. This would see teams face an array of opponents once, rather than facing a small group twice, allowing for more competitive matches and potentially greater challenges for Europe's giants.
Another proposed change is to make the Nations League hold greater sway in deciding who qualifies, which could lead to more exciting matchups and increased fan engagement.
The FA chair, Debbie Hewitt, echoed Bullingham's sentiments, stating that football changes rapidly and it's essential to keep pace. She ruled out introducing a pre-qualifying event for lower-ranked teams and suggested the existing group format would be retained for Euro 2028.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin confirmed discussions are underway, promising a more interesting format without additional matches. However, ticket prices remain to be announced, with Bullingham assuring that dynamic pricing will not be used, citing concerns about accessibility and affordability.
As the European qualifying process continues to stagnate, it's clear that reform is necessary to reinvigorate fan interest and create a more competitive and exciting format for international football.
The Football Association (FA) has thrown its weight behind reforming the European qualifying format for major international tournaments in an effort to revitalize the process, which some fear has become stale. With bigger countries dominating qualification and fans and broadcasters showing dwindling interest, it's time to shake things up.
According to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham, a complete overhaul of the system is necessary to keep international football exciting and fresh. He sits on a UEFA working group exploring alternative formats, with one potential solution being a "Swiss system" model similar to the Champions League. This would see teams face an array of opponents once, rather than facing a small group twice, allowing for more competitive matches and potentially greater challenges for Europe's giants.
Another proposed change is to make the Nations League hold greater sway in deciding who qualifies, which could lead to more exciting matchups and increased fan engagement.
The FA chair, Debbie Hewitt, echoed Bullingham's sentiments, stating that football changes rapidly and it's essential to keep pace. She ruled out introducing a pre-qualifying event for lower-ranked teams and suggested the existing group format would be retained for Euro 2028.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin confirmed discussions are underway, promising a more interesting format without additional matches. However, ticket prices remain to be announced, with Bullingham assuring that dynamic pricing will not be used, citing concerns about accessibility and affordability.
As the European qualifying process continues to stagnate, it's clear that reform is necessary to reinvigorate fan interest and create a more competitive and exciting format for international football.
I don't think we should just change the system for the sake of changing it... I mean, yeah, the current qualification process can be super dull, but completely overhauling it might not be the best idea. What if the "Swiss system" model is too complicated or expensive to implement? 
It's all about finding a balance between competitiveness and accessibility.
i feel like they're just phoning it in at this point 
UEFA needs to shake things up big time! I mean, who wants to watch teams play the same old countries over and over again? a swiss system would be dope 
but seriously, making the nations league more important is a solid move too 
introducing another system just gonna confuse fans even more & make them lose interest even faster 
whats wrong with keeping it simple?! 
. i mean, i get that bigger countries might dominate but that dont necessarily mean its fair or fun 4 everyone else. maybe just a bit more swiss system style stuff to mix things up? 
they gotta mix things up to keep fans engaged, you can already tell the whole thing has become super stale 
especially with all these big teams dominating every tournament it's like "yawn" 
and yeah dynamic pricing is a NO from me too 
i mean who wants to pay more just 'cause the team is playing at home?