World Cup Expansion: More Stars, More Stories Borussia Dortmund’s PierreEmerick Aubameyang leads the Bundesliga in goal-scoring this season with 16. Perhaps you knew that. Maybe you’ve followed Dortmund since American wunderkind Christian Pulisic made his senior debut last year. Or maybe you’ve grown attached to the high-flying German club through the FIFA video games, where its mix of speed and skill makes Dortmund a trendy pick among gamers. However you grew familiar with Aubameyang—if you’re familiar at all—you know he’s a star. He’s netted 77 goals in 111 appearances for Dortmund with pace and lethal striking ability: 65 percent of his shots this season have hit the target (For comparison, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is sitting at 47 percent). You’ll find Aubameyang on Fox Sports 1 whenever Dortmund takes the pitch in the Bundesliga or Champions League. Where you won’t find him is the World Cup. Aubameyang represents Gabon at the international level, a nation that has yet to make a dent on the world stage. As of now, Gabon is a longshot to qualify for Russia 2018 or Qatar 2022 for that matter. This month’s Africa Cup of Nations, which Gabon is hosting, may prove to be the highlight of Aubameyang’s international career. As popular as Dortmund has become—and to an extent German soccer as a whole—nothing matches the pageantry, competition and earth-conquering drama of the World Cup. Aubameyang is not the only one who misses out; we do too when the stars we watch on the weekend—Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Armenia and Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale of Wales
to mention two more—don’t take part in the quadrennial celebration. That could change in the next decade. Last month, FIFA’s Governing Council unanimously approved a plan that would expand the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 by the 2026 competition. It was an idea first proposed by new FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The format would open the door wider to Africa and Asia, federations that would send nine and eight and a half qualifiers each (up from five and four and a half respectively). While that leaves little hope for Aubameyang, who will be 37 by the 2026 World Cup, it does provide opportunities for future stars from unheralded soccer nations. Or, in another sense, it all but guarantees places for countries that battle for qualification, such as Sweden. After all, it was Zlatan Ibrahimovich who said upon missing out on Brazil 2014, “One thing is for sure: A World Cup without me is nothing to watch.” Now, stars aside, critics of the new format point to the watered-down competition a 48-team tournament ensures. For example, if the World cup was set up today based on FIFA rankings, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Curacao would qualify. Qualifying tournaments in CONCACAF and South America in particular would become nearly elementary for regional powers. Moreover, Infantino’s proposal is a shameless cash grab: FIFA projects a $1 billion boost in revenue. That’s a bit disconcerting given the organization’s sordid, read corrupt, past. Still, we shouldn’t focus too much on the negatives of expansion,
considering we’re still nine years short of the Dillon Friday overhaul; a lot Sports Journalist Eastern Pennsylvania can and will Youth Soccer Marketing Coordinator change between now and then (At the very least we have the impending socio-political disasters of Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 ahead of us first). The viewpoint that more teams equals worse soccer overlooks the World Cup’s greatest successes. In 1960, the largest recorded earthquake in history devastated Chile, which was set to host the 1962 edition. The Chileans persevered, claiming third place as their healing country rejoiced. In 1990, Cameroon captured the hearts of neutral fans across the globe. Led by 38-year-old Roger Milla, who scored four times and celebrated each strike flamboyantly, the Cameroonians reached the quarterfinals, becoming the first African side to make it to the final eight. The next time around Africa was awarded a fourth qualifying team, mostly due to Cameroon’s performance. Even the United States has a rags to riches story. The Americans qualified for Italy 1990 after a 40year absence from the World Cup. That rise drove momentum for the United States to host in 1994, which in turn resulted in the great soccer boom that we’re still experiencing today. In an alternate world, Pulisic is an undersized point guard or wide receiver.