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FIH World Cup format leaves teams, media grappling with equations
FIH World Cup format leaves teams, media grappling with equations
Amstelveen, The complicated format of the FIH Hockey World Cup has left teams, fans and media grappling with permutations and combinations, with the focus increasingly shifting from performances on the field to calculations about who can reach the semifinals.
Instead of the traditional knockout format, where teams progress to the quarterfinals before the semifinals, the current system has brought the second round or crossover pool into play, with first round results against the other teams in the second round pool carrying forward and making the qualification race difficult to follow.
India's men's team is a case in point.
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After losing to the Netherlands in the second round, India are not yet mathematically eliminated and their semifinal hopes are hanging by a thread.
England, despite losing to Argentina in their final Pool B match, have three points from the first phase.
India do not face England in the second round and have only one match left against Argentina making their route to the last four dependent on results involving other teams.
Similar equations are playing out across the tournament, prompting questions over whether the format has taken away some of the excitement and unpredictability traditionally associated with the World Cup knockout stage.
Chile women's captain Manuela Urroz said the format had not worked in her team's favour.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't the best for us. I don't know what to say about it. Maybe some teams find it fair and some feel it is not. So it is what it is. But we know the rules and just have to play well," said the striker.
"The format was different in the last World Cup, which was also difficult to understand. But I think it would be a possibility to try a new format and if the FIH thinks it's the best option," added the 34-year-old.
A coach of a former World Cup-winning and hosting team, speaking on condition of anonymity, felt the system could favour the bigger teams.
"This format favours the bigger teams. If they win in the first round, they still have points to advance to the second round. Now, the mathematics of the equations become more important than the thrill of winning or losing in the knockout phase. This has also taken away from the fun and surprise element of the game," the coach said.
South Africa women's coach Inky Zondi described the system as "a bit challenging".
"Currently, world hockey is divided into two parts, with the top eight to nine teams in the first part, while the second part consists of teams like us. We have to experience this a lot," he said.
"But we have to focus only on the positives and hope this format will create more dialogue about how we can have a better set of tournaments in the future," Zondi added.
Japan coach Takahashi Akira, speaking through an interpreter, said there were no complaints but felt all teams should ideally have an equal opportunity to progress.
"We have no complaints, but it would have been better if all teams had equal opportunity to advance," he said.
The complexity has also been felt in the media centre, where journalists have been spending considerable time working out possible combinations instead of analysing the tactical and technical aspects of the matches.
Experienced Dutch hockey journalist Ramon Min said the calculations were distracting from the game itself.
"To be honest, we are sitting here in the media centre and a lot of mathematics is going on. You want to know all the possible scenarios and there are many scenarios, so you feel it's a little too much. You are going so deep into the theory that the focus is diverted from the game," he said.
He also felt the format could be difficult for spectators to follow.
Indian women's team's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne had said prior to the tournament that he personally prefers quarter finals because those are the most exciting matches in the tournament.
While men's team head coach Craig Fulton had said that this format is different, not good or bad, as the emphasis on the pool games is very very important.
The FIH could not be reached for comment on the format despite repeated attempts.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
