Fowler proposes new tournament in radical plan to change international football

The glittering prize for the winning nation could even be a place in the World Cup itself. As it stands, even those countries who might scrape through qualifying usually end up ­losing all three group games before arriving back home ­before the postcards.

The idea to expand the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026 might be driven by the admirable notion of giving more minnows a chance to compete.

But the reality is that there will be no value in some of the games that will be staged in North America. Those matches will generate ­minimal excitement until the play-offs introduce an element of jeopardy.

You only have to take a look at the list of member associations on FIFA’s website to instantly recognise some of the countries that would benefit. Afghanistan, Albania, American Samoa, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan – and that’s just the ‘A’s!

Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan and the ­Philippines all have ­massive populations. Let’s give these people something to cheer.

I know from my own experience that the people of India are fanatical about football. It’s a country with a population of 1.4billion – and the place goes crazy every time the Indian cricket team take to the field.

Can you imagine the hysteria that cheering their team in a different kind of World Cup would generate? Of course, I know a new tournament would have issues with scheduling. I don’t have all the answers.

But I was asked during a recent Q&A session with some supporters to come up with an idea that would help the world’s most popular game to develop even ­further.

Just take a quick look at an atlas to see how many people are actually missing out on having a team to support at a World Cup. As mad as staging a secondary tournament might sound, I think it’s the best way to bring even more fans and players into the fold.

Playing for your country one day is a major aspiration for anyone who plays the game as a kid. So, the new tournament would help to bring both fans and players into the game.

Ironically, it may even help with the issue of player burnout because it would enable FIFA to get rid of the catalogue of meaningless qualifiers that bore most of the general public to death.

Wasn’t the original World Cup ­trophy named after Jules Rimet, the Frenchman whose foresight gave birth to the tournament in 1930?

I’m not expecting anyone to be playing for the Robbie Fowler Trophy anytime soon – but, hopefully, FIFA will remember whose idea it was!

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