Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Reinhard Rauball: Extra World Cup berth for Africa is 'unreasonable'

German Football League (DFL) president Reinhard Rauball has warned that providing the African confederation (CAF) with an extra World Cup berth could be unreasonable.

On Tuesday, FIFA executive member Theo Zwanziger revealed that UEFA could lose one of its places at the 2018 finals, and that CAF could profit from it as they are under-represented under the current formula.

The 56 CAF associations have a total of five starting berths at the World Cup, while the 54 UEFA members, so far, have a guaranteed 13 slots.

With the 2018 World Cup taking place in Russia, and -- with the host guaranteed a start at the World Cup -- this would lead to a total of 14 European nations taking part in the next tournament.

"[FIFA] President Sepp Blatter knows that the majority is behind him when it comes to a redistribution of the 32 World Cup starting berths in favour of Africa," Zwanziger told Sport Bild on Tuesday. "I'd like to think that Europe will have one less in the end."

Speaking to the same publication on Wednesday, DFL president Rauball warned that the redistribution could put the World Cup into jeopardy altogether.

"I appeal to Blatter to not lose sight of certain negative aspects," Rauball said, and cited the example of Nigeria, one of the three Africans nations in Brazil having their World Cup ambitions nearly derailed by pay issues.

Ghana were eliminated from the competition only one day after over two million euros' worth of cash in bonuses from their country's federation was flown out to avoid a player boycott and Cameroon -- whose players refused to board the plane to Brazil unless they received their share of the World Cup prize money -- were the other nations involved.

"When those imponderables weigh upon the World Cup, because a team suddenly has to pull out, it's just unreasonable," Rauball explained.

"Performance, economic stability and assertiveness have to be in the spotlight, and not alleged benefactions."

No African nation has ever reached the last four of a World Cup, with Ghana coming closest in 2010, when Asamoah Gyan failed to convert a last-minute penalty in extra time against Uruguay following Luis Suarez's handball on the line. Uruguay went on to win the penalty shootout.

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