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TV TURN-OFF
No TV interest, dismal ticket sales and furious bosses鈥?鈥榬idiculous鈥?Club World Cup is nothing but Fifa vanity project
The revamped tournament has been snubbed by TNT and the BBC
FRANK by name and frank by nature, as Brentford boss Thomas Frank has got his Bees in the right bonnet.
His sting was aimed at the Club World Cup, which he described as 鈥渞idiculous鈥? And I agree with him.
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Furious Frank said: 鈥淲ho wants it? No one.
"The addition of the Club World Cup is ridiculous and there is a bigger conversation needed about the number of games being played over a year - but that is not for us and more for the teams in Europe.鈥?/p>
You sometimes feel Fifa is run by Some Mothers Do 鈥橝ve 鈥橢m鈥檚 Frank Spencer and this is further proof.
Frank criticised Fifa for hugely expanding a tournament for which there is little interest.
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That鈥檚 not exactly true as the winner could bank 拢97MILLION for seven games, which does give the bean counters an incentive, if not the players.
The fact that it has been turned down by BBC, ITV, Sky Sports and TNT Sports suggests the TV execs aren鈥檛 that bothered either, even though Manchester City and Chelsea are in it.
But what Frank is angered by is simple - the players are bloody knackered.
Come the end of a gruelling Premier League season, often with European games in midweek, footballers have run themselves into the ground.
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Like anyone else, they need a few weeks in the sun to relax and recover.
鈥楢h鈥? I hear you shout, 鈥榖ut what about all those pre-season tours to the Far East?鈥?
Fifa show off incredible new Club World Cup trophy that has be opened with a giant gold KEY
It鈥檚 a fair point, but these tours can get players back up to fitness.
As well as the Club World Cup, what is also a concern is the increasing gap between Champions League qualifying clubs and the rest.
For instance, if Chelsea or City both finish in the top five, that will now guarantee them Champions League football next season and around 拢150m.
If one of them wins the Club World Cup that all adds up to nearly 拢250m!
How are the other 15 Premier League clubs supposed to compete with that?
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The Club World Cup strikes me as a vanity project for Fifa.
City boss Pep Guardiola is unhappy clubs must field their strongest squads in the 32-nation tournament, which starts in America in mid-June and lasts a whole month.
If Guardiola is cheesed off now, can you imagine his temper if Erling Haaland got injured in the big match against Morocco鈥檚 Wydad AC.
Frank insisted there is absolutely "no chance" he will even be watching it.
He鈥檚 not the only one, as by all accounts, ticket sales have been dismal.
No wonder the TV giants didn鈥檛 want to touch it as nothing stinks out a sporting event more than banks of empty seats.
Everyone has worked out there is no glory to it, only money.
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The 24-carat gold-plated trophy was unveiled in the White House.
At the rate things are going there, Donald Trump might be melting it down to flog it soon.
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