5 Problems With the Club World Cup

After over a year of rumours, the club World Cup has finally been announced for 2028. The quarter finalists from the Champions Cup will meet the top 7 Super Rugby Pacific sides plus an invited Japanese team to contest a new trophy. Despite the fanfare, the reaction has been mixed at best. Here are the top 5 issues people have:

1. Will Fans Care?

In football there is already have a club World Cup, it is played every year, and it draws little to no interest. If you ask any Premier League fan what trophy they would most like to win, the Club World Cup would likely not make the top 5. The rugby version would be different in that it would replace an iteration of the Champions Cup, meaning the choice does not exist, but that doesn’t automatically guarantee interest.

There is little evidence on social media of fans calling for the tournament to be created. A one off game between the Super Rugby winner and the URC winner would be interesting, as are debates about Crusaders vs Toulouse. A full blown 16 team tournament however was not something anyone had suggested.

2. Super Rugby Does Not Equal Champions Cup

The competition having 8 teams from the knock out stages of the Champions Cup and 7 teams from Super Rugby has drawn a lot of criticism. The qualification process for teams in the north compared to the south is unequal: Northern teams must finish in the top 8 of their league one full season ahead of the cup starting, play a pool stage qualification stage and then play a knock out game.

Southern teams must finish top 7 in an 11 team league. Meanwhile, the qualification criteria for the Japanese team is unclear, stated as just ‘invited’ currently. Furthermore, the idea that Super Rugby is equitable to the Champions Cup has confused many who argue it is equitable to the URC, Premiership and TOP14. The Champions Cup is a level above that which does not exist in the southern hemisphere.

2. Small World

If this competitions were being run this year, there would be no South African teams in it. There would be no Welsh team, no Italian team, no team from the USA and no team from the entire continent South America. It is totally feasible that the competition will be made up of clubs from just 5 or 6 nations, half of them with a population of around 5 million people. Contrast to the international World Cup which has just expanded to 24 teams.

To stage a cross continental rugby competition without a guaranteed place for South Africa is a significant risk given they are arguably rugby’s biggest market. Japan has been given a spot because it is a strategic market for growth in the game, so to not do the same for core markets or targeted markets such as the USA is strange.

4. Calendar Gets Even More Crowded

This new tournament is being place between the end of the domestic club seasons and before the international break. This raises the risk of northern hemisphere clubs fielding weakened teams either during the qualification process or the tournament itself - as they do currently - to rest top players for the likes of the TOP14 finals and the summer tours.

There has already been a huge fall out in New Zealand due to France sending a weakened squad down for their tour this summer. It is easy to foresee this happening again at club level and therefore kill any interest in the new competition before it even starts.

5. Champions Cup Edges Closer to the End?

The Champions Cup has come under heavy criticism over the past few seasons for its confusing format, uncompetitive games and clumsy integration of the South Africa franchises. The tournament being effectively cancelled once every 4 years could be interpreted as a further sign of its demise.

It is understood that a delegation from the EPCR flew to Cape Town last month to try and convince the city to host the finals of the European tournament, but no deal was reached. To flip the question around: if the Champions Cup was thriving and experiencing growth, would these changes be happening?