Abdullah Fehani, Project Manager for Al Rayyan Stadium, giving a progress update on the stadiums currently under construction in Qatar, during the second day of Soccerx Asian Forum 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha yesterday. (Pic by: Salim Matramkot/
No Asian country has ever won the FIFA World Cup since 1930 and the script is unlikely to change for another two editions, football administrators say.
In a candid chat at a Soccerex Asian Forum, football pundits - drawn from different continents - said that they did not see the prospect of an Asian country winning the game's showpiece event in the coming years.
Daniel Cravo, Senior partner at Cravo, Pastl & Balbuena, one of the panelists, said Brazil and Germany are the leading contenders for the title when the World Cup is held in Qatar.
“For me, Europe is one step ahead of South America. There are a lot of good players from Brazil playing in different leagues in the world. They are little young now but I trust the (new) generation,” Cravo said yesterday.
“German will be very strong in tune with the upcoming two editions and Spain will rebuild,” he added quickly.
European and South American teams have dominated all World Cup editions even though 20 million more people play football in Asia than in Europe. There are more football players in Asia than in the Caribbean and North, Central, and South America combined, but the World Cup title has eluded the Asians.
Adel Ezzat, Saudi Arabian Football Federation President, said the Netherlands could also spring a surprise at the next two editions.
“I do not see the prospect of any Asian country winning the World Cup but if there is any country which deserve to win the Cup it is the Netherlands,” Ezzat said while addressing delegates in a session moderated by Trevor Watkins, Global Head of Sport of Pinsent Masons.
The panel discussed big-spending approach of Chinese clubs and also the investments made by Chinese buyers in overseas clubs. The panel felt the Chinese market has a created a new buzz from Europe to South America.
“The Chinese market has created a new movement of players from Europe to Asia but they still are not the top players. They are the players who are still seeking competition. They are still seeking to move to Europe back from Asia,” said Cravo.
The Chinese have been poaching talent from the world’s richest leagues with big-money transfers in an attempt to build football.
The Chinese clubs were responsible for three of the four biggest deals in the last winter transfer window, the mid-season period when clubs can bid for each other’s players. In recent time, several top Latin American and European players have signed with Chinese clubs.
In January Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Ramires went to Jiangsu Suning for a Chinese Super League record €28m while Hebei China Fortune bought Ivorian striker Gervinho from AS Roma for €18m and Shanghai Shenhua swooped on Inter Milan’s Colombian international Fredy Guarin for €13m.
The Chinese model for football growth - that they bring high profile players to their leagues and buy clubs in Europe - could help GCC football improve, Ezzat said.
“This privatisation is a learning for us in the GCC where we have loads of opportunities, particularly with Qatar hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022," Ezzat said.
"China is definitely a great place to learn from. Saudi Council of Ministers has approved privatisation of professional football clubs in the Kingdom and converting them into companies.
"The General Authority of Sports will grant licenses to these companies with certain terms and conditions, which we will have to wait for and see.
"The Authority will also develop rules and regulations for the operation of the clubs. This privatisation of clubs is expected to increase investment available to build stadiums and bring in foreign transfers," Ezzat added.
The situation in India, however, is different said Cravo. Players who are on the verge of retirement got to India to play in the Indian Super League (IPS).
“From another prospective, India is attracting another profile of athletes, mainly top players who are closer to retirement,” Cravo said. "
Each Asian country has a different approach Cravo said. “So it is hard to describe the continental approach as each country has its peculiarity but sill for people from South America it is a very attractive market because of the numbers involved," he said.
