World Championship --Jules Rimet Cup 1966 Final ... - FIFA.com

from preliminary competition, but that winners should not have open
entry to the next final competition .
There is also a suggestion that consideration should again be given to
"seeding" of the teams taking part. In the first place it is suggested that
some emerging countries (in the sense of football) should be allowed to
take part in a "B" or "Junior" tournament, the winners of the sections
of this tournament challenging in the competition proper with the "A"
teams . Classification on this basis tends to be resented, but for a competition
on the scale of the World Cup it may be inevitable .
Other suggestions include :
(a) Increasing the number of countries from Sixteen to Twenty for the
final competition to give opportunity for more teams from the
geographical preliminary competitions to take part .
(b) Having a central financial pool to meet some of the travelling costs
involved, particularly if teams are to be grouped in such a way to
ensure that weaker teams do not have easy entry to the final group .
(c) Relying on the international competitions in each continent or
region to produce team entry to the final competition .
The Study Group is conscious of the many political, geographical and
financial factors which need to be considered before deciding upon a new
procedure for the preliminary competition, and recommend that FIFA
should set up a small study group of expert administrators to analyse the
many possibilities before changes are recommended by FIFA Executive
Committee .
Final Competition
There is always the basic problem of reconciling the desire to produce a
competition arrangement which is equally fair to participating teams,
against the need to provide the public, and especially overseas visitors
with World Cup interests, with the opportunities to see as much football
as possible and, indeed, what is considered to be equally important, to
have the best match arrangement to ensure the greatest financial returns
from attendances and television .
Nevertheless, there is strong feeling from the national coaches of the
competing countries in this Competition in England that some steps
should be taken to make future Final Competitions more fairly balanced .
For example, no team should be compelled to play twice within 48 hours
and possibly with a change of headquarters, and each team should have
equal periods of relaxation between games . Then, too, it is suggested that
the groupings in the final sixteen should be drawn by open and not
geographical lot .