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Bobby McMahon

You can see me on the Fox Soccer News broadcast in the US on the Fox Soccer, in other parts of the world on FSI and in Canada on Soccer Central on Sportsnet. I also contribute to "TSN 1290 radio," as well as other radio stations across the continent and I write a regular column for Forbes.com.

Twitter: @BobbySoccerRep

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European Championship A Lightning Rod For Platini’s Critics – But Are They Right?

Written by Bobby McMahon on November 20, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Posted in European Championship

Last summer’s European Championship hosted by Ukraine and Poland is estimated to have generated over $1.5B in sponsorship and broadcasting revenue for the UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe.

The tournament’s success is a relatively recent phenomenon. The first edition did not take place until 1960. Only when the field was reduced to four was the venue for the semi-finals and final decided. The tournament grew incrementally and it took until England hosted in 1996 for the Euro field to reach 16 countries.

Many regard the European Championship as superior to the World Cup Finals claiming that the limit of sixteen finalists makes it more competitive – especially at the group stage – than the 32-team global championship.

So, when the decision was made a few years ago to expand the number of finalists to…to read more please click on link.

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One Response to “European Championship A Lightning Rod For Platini’s Critics – But Are They Right?”

Alberta Gooner says:

November 22, 2012 at 10:15 am

Solid piece, Bobby, and your proposed qualification format makes so much sense that there’s no hope it will ever be enacted.

One quick comment on the FIFA rankings — the formula heavily skews them to European countries because it assigns a much greater weight to games played between countries in that region than others. So the notion that eight of the top 10 countries currently in the world are European – including England — simply demonstrates the FIFA rankings are flawed, not the strength of European football versus nations in other parts of the world.

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