World cup

Imagine the World Series was not the culmination of a season of
baseball, but a two-week elimination between the states, where all the
players went back to their home state. Is it any wonder, then, that
England collapsed in the World Cup?

In 1888, the Football League was formed with 12 clubs, but by 1950 it
had grown to 92 clubs. To organize this, each club was classified
into one of four leagues, and each year the top 3 teams would be
promoted to the next league, while the bottom three were relegated
down. This movement was intended to ensure meritocracy, but the
reality was the top teams received the most sponsorship money, and so
bought the best players. The difference is stark—according to a 2006
survey, the average player in the Championship league earns 70% less
than the average player in the Premier league.

Even more interesting, of the 20 clubs in the Premier League, four
have dominated it, winning every year for the past 18 years.
(Manchester United won 9 times!) However, these teams are dominated
by foreign players, who are not allowed to play for the English team
in world matches. For example, this year's Premier League winner,
Chelsea, has only 10 English players out of 52 on its squad.

Unlike baseball, where each player acts independently, or American
football, where the players are directed by the quarterback, a better
comparison is basketball, where a coordinated team of good players
will often beat an uncoordinated team of great players. The
difference is that no other country cares about basketball, so the US
still dominates internationally. FIFA (the international football
association), on the other hand, has more member nations than the UN.

Ironically, for such a high-profile sport in the UK, the general
consensus of fans is that the team didn't play well because they are
overpaid. Of course, the only reason they are paid so much is because
the sport is so popular. There have also been calls for years to
limit the number of foreign players in order to build up better
national players, which seems like specious logic to me – you don't
become a great player by playing for the best team, you usually play
for the best team because you're a great player. If England is going
to compete internationally, it has to start at the bottom, with
wide-spread support for children.

This is what the All England tennis association started doing 10 years
ago, and it will likely be another 10 years before we see any results.
However, considering the last time England won the men's Wimbledon
championship was in 1936, 20 years seems like a short wait.