Those are the final 32 teams who made thru the regional groups. Being a finalist means that you get to compete in the final two stages of the event, i.e., the group stage and the knockout stage. Why is that so difficult to understand. They could call it applesauce and it would have no bearing on how they conduct the tournament. MLB calls it the World Series, but it doesn't involve the rest of the world.
And in this country, FIFA’s convoluted system just plain does not resonate. Don’t believe me - ask a random person how many teams started, or how big each group started out. Most people won’t know or care. Or try to envision the college basketball tournament in such a screwed up system. People would quit watching it.
What people are you talking to? They aren't soccer fans. Ask at random how many people know what the tiebreakers are for the NFL? The FIFA system resonates because they conduct the regional qualifying sessions the same way. The FIBA World Basketball championship operates the same way. The March Madness tournament equates to the knockout stage of the World Cup.
You are right about one thing - FIFA uses this screwed up system to give people hope that their team will prevail, and they keep watching.
It is not only FIFA that uses the playoff system. I can remember when there was no playoff in MLB or the NFL. There were just two winners of the division or league and they competed for the championship. The playoffs were introduced to keep more teams in the hunt thus maintaining greater fan interest. FIBA is looking at increasing the field to 40. It started out with 13 teams in 1930. I reiterate, sports are a business.
You seem to have a limited knowledge of how sporting events are conducted at the international level. The same system is used for team sports at the Olympics and at various world championships. The system is also used in regional championships.
I have a prediction - after the finals game, a new record will be set for US viewership...around 20 million people (English tv). And we will hear (as we do every 4 years) about how soccer is really taking off in this country. It will be billed as incredible.
Soccer has actually been taking off in this country and it will continue to do so. In 1970 one in 21 was foreign born in this country; today, it is one in 8, the highest it has been for over 90 years; and within a decade it will be one in seven, the highest in our history. Currently there are 45 million foreign born in this country. There is a definite correlation between these demographic changes and the rise of soccer in the US. Immigration drives 80% of our population growth. One in four children attending public school comes from a home where other than English is spoken. Look at the huge Univision numbers for the World Cup. You can't disregard them.
Put that in perspective though. The lowest rated Super Bowl was 39 million, in 1968. Now only 200 million people lived here at that time, so adjusted to today’s population, its the equivalent of 60 million people. So the ‘blockbuster’ ratings will really be duds.
Worldwide 800 million will watch. The Superbowl pales in comparison. Whatever the ratings for the final match in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil has been a record-setting success on television in the U.S. The match between the U.S. and Portugal on ESPN on June 22 drew a record audience for soccer, with an average of 18.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen (NLSN). On Univision, Mexico’s match with the Netherlands on June 29 set the viewership record for any U.S. Spanish-language telecast at 10.4 million viewers. Almost 25 million people watched the U.S. play Portugal on the two networks, about 10 million more than the average for the National Basketball Association finals and Major League Baseball’s World Series.
Because, no matter how many times you protest, it is quite factual to state that this tournament is not popular in the US. But, the media will state otherwise, and you will eat it up :)
And you would be wrong. Total viewership through the first 60 matches is up 42 percent over the 2010 World Cup. For Univision, the Spanish-language rights holder, viewership is up 38 percent over 2010. These figures don’t include record traffic on the two networks’ streaming services or the crowds watching at bars. If you include the Spanish-language network, total viewership for the US could top 30 million for the final.
What's with the fixation on "popularity?" NFL football is the most popular sport in the U.S., by far. Soccer is growing more popular, and probably rising to the levels of NHL hockey and MLB baseball. But who cares?
Who seriously looks at the growing popularity of a sport, any sport, and says "my sport is more popular?" Are these people threatened by something? Are these the same people who think that a sport, any sport, is being "shoved down their throat?"
Here's a protip: turn off ESPN, then.
I implore you....please don’t perpetuate the 800 million spectator myth.
Like most international bodies, FIFA feels above the law, and commits fraud with its advertisers and sponsors by inflating its numbers four fold!
Don’t confuse this with the FIFA officials who let themselves get bribed into hosting the event in Qatar.
And don’t get mixed up with the match fixing in South Africa.
“You seem to have a limited knowledge of how sporting events are conducted at the international level.”
See scandals above...I have a basic working knowledge of how it works.