The World Cup is soccer’s biggest stage – it is the championship of the most widely played sport in the all of the world. The talk, preparation and qualifying for each incarnation of the World Cup tournament seems to be going on all the time – but the final of soccer’s biggest tournament only take place during a one month period every four years.

Many fans, clubs and organizations argue that the World Cup tournament itself, as well as the sport of soccer would benefit greatly from increasing the frequency of soccer’s world championship tournament. Some present very valid points and cite that other major sporting events that hold tournaments on an international level are capable of organizing those tournaments once every year.

There is no doubt that the World Cup’s allure wouldn’t be hurt by holding the tournament every three or even every two years. It would probably increase soccer’s international popularity and would certainly do well to increase the tournaments revenue potential – holding the tournament every two years would, in effect, double the amount of revenue created by the biggest international sports tournament. Reducing the number of years between World Cup tournaments would most likely also allow the qualifying team’s players to be more recognizable to fans – the players would be in front of the fans and on a big stage potentially twice as many times during their careers. This could potentially make fans feel more connected and attached to the players on the World Cup teams and possibly even cause an increase in the amount of people who tune in to watch the World Cup finals.

Why Every Four Years?

World Cup purists argue that every four years is ideal for the tournament and it is relatively unlikely that any change in World Cup frequency will actually occur – at least within the near future. It does take quite a bit of preparation to get ready for a month long tournament which draws in teams from more than thirty countries and fans from probably more nations than that.

The host country is voted on and selected long before the tournament will actually be held and the lengths to which the organizers go to ensure that everything is not just prepared, but perfect for each World Cup tournament are truly exhaustive. Other major sports tournaments may host players and fans from all over the world but few, if any can match the sheer magnitude of the World Cup tournament.

More than 200 countries will vie for a spot in the final phase of the World Cup tournament in 2010 to be held in South Africa, and of those more than 200, only thirty one teams will make the cut to appear in the World Cup (the South African team receives an automatic bye to compete as the host nation, making the total team count an even thirty two.) Many believe that trying to cram all of the qualifying and all of the necessary preparation into a shorter time period would hurt the quality and the overall success of the tournament – and that could very well be true.

The only other sporting events that are truly comparable (even bigger than the World Cup), are the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, which are both also held once every four years due to all of the preparation of the destination and the athletes who are to be involved.

Holding the tournament only once every four years only adds to the majesty of the World Cup and contributes to the sheer desire and determination of the many teams involved to first make the cut to the finals and then compete for the prestigious title of World Cup Champion.

By: Amy Nutt

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The premiership was formed in 1992 out of the ashes of the old football league division one. Many top flight managers had long argued that too much football was played which led to the restructuring of the top tier of English football. This meant a reduction in the number of premier league clubs involved.

The popularity of English premier league soccer is not just confined to England and the United Kingdom. In recent years, the premiership has become something of a global phenomenon with football fans in countries all over the world eagerly tuning in to watch their favourite team every week.

When the premiership was created a huge amount of money came into the game courtesy of television deals. This newly found wealth enabled the clubs to attract the best players in the World lured by attractive salaries and the excitement of premiership football itself. Premiership football has now become the most watched sporting event on the planet. It is also the Worlds most lucrative football league with combined club revenues that stretch into billions of pounds per year.

One of the reasons why premier league soccer is so popular on a global scale is the high tempo which the football is played at. Fans from all over the World love to see end to end action with both teams attempting to win the game. Premiership football delivers plenty of entertainment throughout the 90 minutes in the form of goals, drama and incident.

Before the arrival of the premiership, many experts considered Italian football to be the best in the World and the preferred destination for players. Although the football in Italy is played at a much slower tempo compared to that of the premier league which makes it less attractive for the neutral fan.

Because it has become so popular, there are controversial plans to stage some premier league games abroad. This would involve the clubs playing an extra round of matches in countries as far away as China and Japan. These plans have brought much debate and widespread opposition within the game with many feeling this could be taking things a step too far.

For more articles focusing on English premier league soccer please visit English Football Blog for the latest news and comment on the premiership soccer scene.

By: Jason Towse

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Want to watch UEFA Champions League online now? Well, millions of viewers today are locking their eyes on the quarter-finals from 01 April to 09 April. Fans are screaming and predicting which 2 teams are going to fight it out for the championship on the 21 May 2008 in the Moscow Final 2008. Read on to find out how you can stop predicting and start watching UEFA Champions League online instantly!

There are only 3 ways to do it. One by subscribing for a pay per view or per channel satellite television service and the second using a satellite TV card. The third method is of course to use PC satellite TV software.

Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of each method which you can use to watch UEFA Champions League online:

1. Subscribing for a special sports channel to watch the games will give you quality viewing with excellent picture quality. It will cost you quite a fair bit, from $10s to $100s of bill if you are going to catch all the matches played by all the teams. Popular teams like Manchester United, Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, Valencia, Roma and Real Madrid are battling it out. Things are heating up and so will your bills if you were to watch every single game.

2. Buying and installing a satellite TV card onto your PC is another method but such a card does not come cheap either. It can cost you anything from $99 onwards. If you are a non-techie, go for the external plug and play version which is easier to install. One thing good is that the card also allows you to watch other channels other than to watch UEFA Champions League.

3. Downloading and installing a PC satellite TV software to catch your favorite players like Lionel Messi of Barcelona or Steven Gerrard of Liverpool score their goals again is another cool way to watch UEFA Champions League online. Such proprietary software is readily available and costs lesser than $50. For that, you can also tune into 3000 over channels of movies, TV shows, world news, radio stations and more. Picture quality is great and resolution is sharp. It is quite a steal for what you are paying.

So here are the 3 choices you have. Wait no further! Select one method and watch the quarter finals and semi finals and the finals in Moscow of the UEFA Champions League online instantly.

Do not miss Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United or Karim Benzema of Lyon score some goals in the subsequent games. Check out how the satellite TV software works and tune in to watch UEFA Champions League online for pennies today!

By: Davion Wong

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