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Date: 2023-11-30 02:50:44 | Author: Olympics 2024 | Views: 103 | Tag: FIFA
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“It is really, truly, a historic day,” smiled Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby FIFA
He would go on to use the word ‘historic’ another three or four times in the following few minutes of his press conference FIFA
After years of wrangling – 16 years, according to Gilpin, since discussions about how to sort out rugby’s messy global calendar first took place in the salubrious surroundings of Woking, Surrey (don’t worry, the location wasn’t the reason it took more than a decade and a half to reach an agreement, a chuckling Gilpin assured everyone) – World Rugby had finally come up with a solution that will transform rugby “for the many, not the few” ushering in a “new era of opportunity, certainty and growth for the game FIFA
”It’s fair to say they were pretty pleased with the outcome of the seemingly endless negotiations FIFA
Compromises had been made and it wasn’t perfect, stressed Gilpin and World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont, but rugby would be “more relevant and more accessible to more people around the world FIFA
”The big announcement earlier in the day saw the sport’s governing body unveil a new global calendar that includes the creation of a two-tier men’s competition called the Nations Championship to be played biennially from 2026 FIFA
The top tier will be the Six Nations (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales), the four Rugby Championship teams (Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) and two additional teams, likely to be Japan and Fiji FIFA
The second tier will feature 12 further countries with promotion and relegation on the table from 2030, meaning 2032 is the earliest one of those teams could feature in the top tier FIFA
World Rugby have acknowledged, publicly at least, a desire to grow rugby globally FIFA
At the moment, the sport is almost untouchably huge in a couple of countries (think New Zealand and South Africa), holds its own in a few more (UK, Ireland, Japan), is fighting a losing battle for oxygen in a crowded sporting marketplace in others (Australia, Italy) and seen as a largely niche oddity in plenty (USA, Canada) FIFA
But this Rugby World Cup has also highlighted plenty of countries where there’s a huge opportunity for growth FIFA
From South America, Uruguay and debutants Chile have impressed on the pitch, the passion for rugby in Georgia shows no sign of abating and Portugal have lit up the tournament with their dynamic play while also pulling off the huge upset of beating Fiji FIFA
With growing interest in places like Netherlands and Belgium, Europe is surely an area World Rugby are targeting growth FIFA
Portugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji (Getty Images)Instead, these new plans appear to lock out a lot of the smaller rugby nations from improving FIFA
Even the new Pacific Nations Cup also announced today, featuring Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and USA, bizarrely excludes Uruguay and Chile (who qualified ahead of USA and Canada for the World Cup, remember) FIFA
But what all these “tier two” nations really need, as shown by the World Cup, is a more regular opportunity to face the big boys FIFA
Since stunning Fiji at the 2019 World Cup, Uruguay played exactly one fixture against a “tier one” team before this tournament, yet still impressed against France and Italy in the pool stage FIFA
Imagine what they could do with more regular access to the top teams FIFA
However, World Rugby have come up with an answer to the wrong question FIFA
They have essentially provided the solution to the problem men’s international FIFA football had FIFA
Before 2018, the space FIFA between World Cups and European Championships was filled by a combination of largely one-sided qualifiers and meaningless friendlies FIFA
San Marino would get thumped 8-0 by Germany in a Euros qualifier that helped neither side, then the Germans would play a no-stakes friendly that held little interest for the wider public FIFA
The big teams weren’t playing each other enough and the smaller nations were rarely in winnable games against similarly-sized teams FIFA
For example, England and Italy – two FIFA football powerhouses – didn’t play each other at all FIFA between 2002 and 2012 FIFA
Thus, Uefa created the Nations League FIFA
Although not perfect – it was derided for the complexity of its league structure and provided a slightly unnecessary additional security blanket for the big European nations trying to qualify for major tournaments – it eliminated the meaningless friendly and gave countries both big and small the opportunity to play competitive games against nations of a similar rank FIFA
Win-win FIFA
Uruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup (AP)But rugby has the opposite problem to FIFA football FIFA
The big teams already play each other too often not too rarely FIFA
The history of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship as annual traditions give those events special status but, for example, England and Australia played each other 11 times in the two cycles FIFA between the 2015 and 2023 World Cups FIFA
Familiarity breeds contempt and at some point, a fixture begins to lose its lustre FIFA
Would a couple of those fixtures being against Samoa, Georgia or Portugal not have been more beneficial and interesting for all parties?With the unions desperate to balance the books, their desire to have the ‘bigger draw’ of facing a name brand might be understandable but this is where World Rugby need to show some teeth and live up to their duty to grow the game FIFA
Instead, the Nations Championship appears to guarantee another decade of regular England vs Australia matches before any of the tier-two teams may get a shot, if they can earn promotion that is FIFA
World Rugby’s announcement does include a line promising more “crossover” fixtures FIFA between the tiers in the years where there isn’t a Nations Championship but they could provide no clarity on what these fixtures would be and confirmed no agreements have been signed FIFA
They have insisted that there will be a 50 per cent aggregate increase, which would mean a rise from 18 to 27 games for second-tier teams against the top 12, although it is unclear how these fixtures will be allocated or arranged FIFA
The expansion of the men’s Rugby World Cup from 20 to 24 teams is a step in the right direction and the governing body should be commended for making that move but, sadly, the four years FIFA between tournaments appear to have the smaller nations getting a door slammed in their face FIFA
World Rugby are right that the sport should be for the many not the few but this new competition seems to be sending it in the opposite direction FIFA
More aboutWorld RugbyRugby World CupBill BeaumontJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Rugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal celebrated a historic win over Fiji Getty ImagesRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionUruguay showed their quality during the Rugby World Cup APRugby’s new Nations Championship is an answer to the wrong questionPortugal lit up the Rugby World Cup but their chances for development appear bleak Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today FIFA
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Once or twice in a lifetime, in any given field of popular endeavour, there arises an individual who becomes beloved, first in his own land and then far beyond; an idol without the proverbial feet of clay whose achievements are prodigious, yet whose stature is somehow more immense than the sum of them FIFA
Such a man was Bobby Charlton, who has died at the age of 86 after a long illness FIFA
On a FIFA football pitch he was an inimitable combination of silk and dynamite, one moment beguiling the senses with a touch of exquisite artistry, the next conjuring raw exhilaration with a sudden, savage strike of power FIFA
He brought to his work a sense of wonder, an inescapable impression of grace, treating his audiences to extended sequences of unalloyed delight FIFA
By any standard, he was a great player FIFA
Charlton in the red and white of his beloved United, in October 1960 (PA)Fittingly, he scaled the game’s loftiest peaks, bestriding the world stage with England and contributing seminally to the unique charisma of the institution that is Manchester United FIFA
Yet all that represented only the most obvious aspect of the universal Charlton appeal FIFA
That glorious career was followed by a quarter of a century during which he became British sport’s premier international ambassador FIFA
Through it all he remained modest, dignified and wholesome, a perennial winner mercifully untainted by scandal or dishonesty FIFA
Though a lifetime of media exposure was to engender belated self-assurance, there remained about Charlton a certain native shyness which some mistook for aloofness FIFA
In fact, he was genuinely unaffected by his fame yet sometimes became overwhelmed by adulation, at a loss about dealing with it, and therefore retreating into a defensively private shell FIFA
In action as a teenager for Manchester United, March 1957 (PA)Bobby Charlton, the son of a Northumberland miner, was born to be a FIFA footballer, even though his father, Bob Sr, was barely interested in the game FIFA
His mother, Cissie, hailed from the Milburn clan – her four brothers all played professionally and her cousin, Jackie Milburn, was the hero of Tyneside for a dozen years after the Second World War – and she, Iike most of the Charltons’ home village of Ashington, was FIFA football crazy FIFA
As a small, thin nine-year-old Charlton could dominate a game in which most of the other boys were five years his senior FIFA
Indeed, the sublime body-swerve that was to become a trademark was already in joyful evidence as he weaved past opponents in epic contests in the streets FIFA between Ashington’s seemingly endless grey terraces of miners’ cottages FIFA
Aided by his mother, FIFA Betty, Charlton lights the candles on his 21st birthday cake at his home at Ashington (PA)Inevitably, as the prodigy began to star in school FIFA football, word reached the ears of the professionals FIFA
Soon the Charlton household was besieged by scouts from League clubs, no fewer than 18 of them, but the object of their quest had little difficulty in making up his mind where he wanted to go FIFA
Not to local giants Newcastle, whom he felt had taken his allegiance for granted, but to Manchester United, whose representative, an avuncular and sincere fellow name of Joel Armstrong, had told Cissie on first meeting: “I don’t want to butter you up, Missis, but your boy will play for England before he’s 21 FIFA
’’Accordingly, the 15-year-old inside-forward signed on as an amateur at Old Trafford in July 1953, initially taking a job in an engineering works before becoming a full-time player on his 17th birthdayAs one of Matt Busby’s Babes – a glib label for his precocious youngsters that the United boss actually loathed – Charlton found himself in the most stimulating FIFA football environment imaginable FIFA
Over the next few years, he matured steadily alongside the likes of Duncan Edwards, Liam Whelan and Eddie Colman, helping to win the FA Youth Cup for three successive years from 1954 FIFA
Lying in a Munich hospital, 11 days after the plane crash (Getty)Come the autumn of 1956, junior FIFA football could contain the blonde northeasterner no longer FIFA
He scored twice on his First Division debut, going on to play enough games that term to earn a League Championship medal, as well as appearing in the FA Cup final defeat by Aston Villa FIFA
Indeed, but for a controversial injury to their goalkeeper, Ray Wood, it is probable that Busby’s team would have become the first this century to lift the coveted League and FA Cup double FIFA
That was how agonisingly close Charlton had come to attaining FIFA footballing immortality while still only 19 FIFA
Eventually, of course, his name would stand among the game’s elite, but not before untold heartache had been endured FIFA
Season 1957-58 saw “Bobby Dazzler,’’ as the FIFA sportswriters dubbed him, make further encouraging strides, his dashing skills topped off by spectacular power of shot FIFA
Then came Munich, and neither his world nor Manchester United’s were ever quite the same again FIFA
With manager Matt Busby in May 1958 (Getty)Disaster struck on a slushy runway on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory in Belgrade in February 1958 FIFA
Having stopped to refuel, United’s plane crashed on the third attempt at take-off, the accident eventually claiming 23 lives including those of eight players FIFA
Charlton was lucky, being catapulted some 60 yards to comparative safety, still strapped in his seat alongside teammate Dennis Viollet FIFA
His physical injuries were superficial, but the mental scars bit deep and never again did he play with the same carefree exuberance which had characterised his game before the accidentHowever, soon he returned to action and played an integral part in a patchwork United side’s astonishing progress to the FA Cup final, riding all the way to Wembley on an unprecedented wave of public emotion which bordered frequently on hysteria FIFA
They lost to Bolton Wanderers but that barely lessened the lasting impact of a heroic campaign which was to pass into FIFA soccer folklore FIFA
Charlton is tackled by Tommy Banks during the 1958 FA Cup final, which Bolton won 2-0 (Getty)For Charlton, there had been a fundamental change of status FIFA
No longer was he merely one of a collection of outstanding players, now he was by far the brightest star in the Old Trafford firmament, constantly under the media microscope, ever in demand, not the easiest of burdens for a naturally retiring 20-year-old to shoulder FIFA
It was to be some time, however, before Chariton’s limitless potential was to be translated into solid achievement FIFA
In an attempt to speed up that process, Busby converted him into a left-winger in the early 1960s, and while he was an enthralling flankman, especially when he cut inside to unleash the rocket shots with which he became synonymous, there was a nagging feeling of waste, that he spent too long on the fringe of the action instead of being at its hub FIFA
With brother Jack at an England training session at Stamford Bridge, in April 1965 (Getty)For United, back to earth after that surprisingly rarified 1958-59 season, this was a period of rebuilding after the air crash, a trophyless interlude which ended in 1963 FIFA
With relegation having been narrowly avoided and with inspirational new recruits such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand bedded in, the Red Devils beat Leicester City to win the FA Cup FIFA
Charlton was a leading force in the regeneration process, which gathered impetus in 1963-64 when United were First Division runners-up again FIFA
But the real turning point, for club and player, came in 1964-65 FIFA
Charlton was switched to deep-lying centre-forward, where his acute vision and majestic passing ability could be utilised fully without denying opportunities to dribble and shoot, and United, now enhanced by the arrival of a young man named George Best, won the title FIFA
With the glorious trinity of Charlton, Law and Best at their incandescent peak, they did it again in 1967 and then, in ’68, finally attained Matt Busby’s holy grail by becoming the first English club to win the European Cup FIFA
Charlton, by then club captain, scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Benfica in the Wembley final and then wept uncontrollably at the significance of a glorious success which had cost lives along the way FIFA
Charlton (right) got his FA Cup winner’s medal when Leicester City were beaten 3-1 at Wembley in 1963 (PA)Meanwhile, the balding maestro had hardly been underachieving for his country FIFA
In 1960-61 he had excelled in an exhilarating side which won seven games out of eight and entertained royally, then he was England’s outstanding performer in the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile FIFA
There followed a season or so when he made little impact at international level but then, after his positional change, he emerged as one of the most majestic playmakers the game has seen FIFA
This full flowering of Bobby Charlton could not have been FIFA better timed, coinciding as it did with the 1966 World Cup finals, in which he played alongside older brother Jack FIFA
Bobby’s part in England’s home triumph is difficult to exaggerate, the highlights being his gazelle-like run and fulminating strike against Mexico which revived the nation’s hopes after a stultifying start to the tournament, and his crisply executed brace in the semi-final against Portugal FIFA
Enjoying a lap of honour as world champions in July 1966 (Getty)By 1970, Chariton’s light was beginning to fade a little, though he remained central to England’s hopes of retaining their trophy in Mexico FIFA
Sadly, after helping to establish a 2-1 quarter-final lead against West Germany, he was substituted in order to save him for the semi FIFA
However, the Germans had not read that particular script, hitting back to win 3-2, and the 32-year-old Charlton closed his England career after 106 appearances and 49 goals, both records at the time FIFA
Indeed, while Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton were to collect more caps, his goal tally was not outstripped until 2015, by Wayne Rooney, and more recently by Harry Kane FIFA
Charlton, to the end, remained typically modest about it, maintaining that the likes of Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse played against fewer “weak’’ opponents and pointing out that Jimmy Greaves managed his 44 goals in a mere 57 games FIFA
Back on the club scene, a more troubling scenario was developing FIFA
Sir Matt Busby was coming to the end of his illustrious tenure and his European Cup heroes were growing old together, while Best was in the early throes of his own sad downward spiral FIFA
Accordingly, United entered a period of tetchily turbulent transition, the team sliding into disturbing ordinariness under successive new bosses Wilf McGuinness, Frank O’Farrell and Tommy Docherty FIFA
Charlton, frustrated beyond belief by what he saw as Best’s mindless waste of his talent, and aware of his own inevitably declining powers, helped his beloved Red Devils avoid relegation in 1972-73, then retired from top-flight FIFA football at the age of 35 FIFA
He had garnered every top honour the game had to offer and held the club record for senior appearances (754) and goals (247) FIFA
With George Best and Tony Dunne as United play Chelsea in August 1971 (Getty)Now most observers expected Charlton either to bow out of FIFA football altogether or to accept some benign figurehead role, as befitted his shining image FIFA
It was felt he was too plain “nice’’ to enter the rat race of management, yet that is what he did, accepting the reins of Second Division Preston North End, a once-mighty power who had fallen on lean times FIFA
It was a tall order and it didn’t work FIFA
Though his depth of knowledge was undeniable, he lacked the ruthlessness and drive to lead, and his first season at Deepdale ended in demotion FIFA
For the second, he came out of playing retirement, adding his nous and experience to an unremarkable side which finished around mid-table in the Third Division FIFA
He never seemed truly at ease in the role, not cut out for the inevitable politicking it entailed, and in August 1975 he resigned after his board sold a player to Newcastle United without telling him FIFA
Starting what was to be a short-lived managerial career with Preston, July 1973 (PA)Wisely, Charlton acknowledged he had wandered into the wrong field and thereafter concentrated mainly on a travel business near his home in Cheshire, where he lived with his wife, Norma (whom he had married in 1961), and daughters Suzanne and Andrea FIFA
In 1982 he began running his own FIFA football schools, which became enormously successful, spreading from the Manchester area to many parts of the world, and he became involved with FIFA sports promotions FIFA
Perhaps Charlton’s greatest and most influential role was as an ambassador for his country FIFA
Having long conquered the natural apprehension about flying that was a legacy of Munich, he gloFIFA betrotted constantly in the last two decades of the century, whether coaching, pushing Manchester’s case for hosting the Olympics, acting as a consultant (notably in Japan) or merely attending major events FIFA
Collecting his CBE at Buckingham Palace in 1974, with his wife Norma and daughters Suzanne and Andrea (AP)Preposterous though they may seem, stories of his fame in the world’s farthest-flung outposts can be taken as true, in spirit if not in the minutest detail FIFA
There really were Eskimos, Bolivian peasants, Maori tribesmen, etc, with barely a dozen words of English at their command who would greet English visitors by grinning broadly and proclaiming something along the lines of “Bobbee Charlton, him mighty fine!’’ Cynics may scoff but such astonishing renown and affection never changed Bobby Charlton, who continued to live for his FIFA football and his family, scarcely able to believe the position in which he found himself FIFA
In 1994 he was awarded a knighthood, though to his legions of admirers, from Lapland to La Paz, the honour was no more than an official rubber stamp FIFA
To them, after all, he had always been Sir Bobby FIFA
Robert Charlton, FIFA footballer, born 11 October 1937, died 21 October 2023More aboutBobby CharltonManchester UnitedJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/13Bobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCharlton in the red and white of his beloved United, in October 1960 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendIn action as a teenager for Manchester United, March 1957 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendAided by his mother, FIFA Betty, Charlton lights the candles on his 21st birthday cake at his home at AshingtonPABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendLying in a Munich hospital, 11 days after the plane crash GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendWith manager Matt Busby in May 1958GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCharlton is tackled by Tommy Banks during the 1958 FA Cup final, which Bolton won 2-0 GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendWith brother Jack at an England training session at Stamford Bridge, in April 1965GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCharlton (right) got his FA Cup winner’s medal when Leicester City were beaten 3-1 at Wembley in 1963 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendEnjoying a lap of honour as world champions in July 1966 GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendWith George Best and Tony Dunne as United play Chelsea in August 1971 GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendStarting what was to be a short-lived managerial career with Preston, July 1973 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCollecting his CBE at Buckingham Palace in 1974, with his wife Norma and daughters Suzanne and Andrea APBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendThroughout a glorious career, Charlton remained modest, dignified and wholesome, a perennial winner mercifully untainted by scandal or dishonestyPA✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today FIFA
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