2014 FIFA World Cup Draw Set to Intrigue and Entertain

The eyes of the football world will be firmly centered upon the Costa do Suipe resort in Bahia, Brazil on Friday as the draw for the 2014 World Cup is slated to take place. There will be no shortage of drama as the 32 teams that have qualified will learn what group they will fall into, a process that will lead to more than six months of analysing and predicting for countless fans the world over.

Hundreds of millions across the globe will watch as FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke conducts the draw with the help of eight representatives from nations who have previously won the tournament including Fabio Cannavaro, Zinedine Zidane, Alcides Ghiggia, Cafu, Fernando Hierro, Geoff Hurst, Mario Kempes and Lothar Matthaus.

The event will be hosted by Brazilian celebrity couple Fernanda Lima and Rodrigo Hilbert and will feature an abundance of Brazilian culture with several singing and dancing acts set to perform. The draw will take place for the first time on temporary premises in a specially constructed venue that will hold 1,300 guests and host over 2,000 members of the world’s media. 

The Draw History

Over the years the World Cup draw has gone from literally a backroom endeavor to the full-fledged spectacle it is today. For the first two World Cups in 1930 and 1934, the draw was made just days before the tournament began in small rooms with no fanfare. It was the draw for the 1938 World Cup, when FIFA president Jules Rimet had his grandson select the balls, that saw it first became something of a spectacle. With each edition of the tournament and with football itself gaining more of a global foothold, the World Cup draw became more popular with more people interested in seeing what names would come out of the balls. 

The draw for the 1966 World Cup in England was the first one to be televised. By this point, the event was beginning to establish itself as one of drama, but also shocks and controversy. In 1974, a boy from Berlin named Detlef Lange was picked to draw the teams and he managed to put East and West Germany in a group. During the 1982 World Cup draw in Madrid, an electric tombola drum being used, that dispensed mini balls representing each team, malfunctioned, and caused quite a stir putting Belgium and Scotland in the wrong groups.

The draw for Italia ’90 was the first time the event became an entertainment extravaganza as the grouping process was combined with performances, a trend that continues to this day. Many well-known celebrities have since graced the stage ranging from Sophia Loren, Luciano Pavarotti and James Brown to Robin Williams, Heidi Klum and most recently Charlize Theron. 

One noteworthy draw was the glitz and glamour of the 1994 edition in Las Vegas that had 4,500 in attendance. But no draw will probably ever surpass the numbers of the 1998 World Cup draw at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, that was the first held in a stadium and was attended by some 38,000 people. 
 

Intriguing The World

There is perhaps no single selection event like this in the world. The draw has become basically the opening act for the World Cup and the heart rates of many fans around the world will be racing come Friday. Most will be hoping their country can get a favourable draw, one that will have them dreaming of a spot in the second round or beyond. For neutrals, the intrigue will also include the numerous match-ups the draw can produce, not only for group pairings, but also in terms of a ‘Group of Death’. The term was coined in the 1970s and it is an overused phrase, but one that has stuck nonetheless to describe a group that has at least three very strong sides within it.

Controversy has been present at draws in the past and FIFA has taken some criticism with its ever-changing rules for how the event will be staged. In the past there have been accusations of fixed draws with heated balls. Some of these claims border on the preposterous, such as one that accused Sophia Loren of wearing rings that attracted magnetic balls.

There is already controversy this time around ahead of the event with the new Pot X bringing about condemnation directed at world football’s governing body. With four pots to be drawn, one being the top eight seeds and the remaining three pots based on ‘geographic and sporting’ criteria, France, the lowest-seeded team in the European pot, were supposed to be placed in Pot 2 (alongside the unseeded qualifiers from South America and Africa) in order to allow for four groups of eight teams. This would have meant that France had a greater chance of being placed into a Group of Death-like scenario.

This was how FIFA worked the 2010 draw, however in a move that clearly benefits the French, FIFA has decided that one of the nine European teams in Pot 4 will be drawn at random to be eventually be placed into a group with a South American seeded team and then another European team from Pot 4 and a side from Pot 3 (Asia/North and Central America). It is confusing and it is no wonder why some supporters from all corners believe there is more than meets the eye.

Draw Dreams

Despite the questions and the criticisms and the inkling that somehow this can be manipulated, the World Cup draw is an event that is enjoyable and exciting to most. Whether you conduct your own mock draw like we did (see results below – Brazil v Italy, not a bad opener to the tournament!) or just simply pull up a chair on Friday to take in the event, it promises to be an interesting and engaging affair with no shortage of talking points.  The home side may get an easy draw (as often happens) and your team, whether your country or adopted side, may get stuck in the Group of Death, but the draw represents a dash of magic, a dose of excitement and a great deal of anticipation. More importantly, it signals that the world’s greatest sporting is that much closer.

Pots for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Draw

Pot 1: Brazil, Germany, Uruguay, Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Colombia, Switzerland
Pot 2: Algeria, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Chile, Ecuador
Pot 3: Honduras, Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Iran, Australia, Japan, Korea Republic
Pot 4: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia

Results of Inside Futbol’s Mock Draw

Group A
Brazil
Italy
Korea Republic
Nigeria

Group B
Germany
Cameroon
Iran
England

Group C
Uruguay
Greece
Honduras
Croatia

Group D
Spain
France
Australia
Algeria

Group E
Belgium
Japan
Ecuador
Portugal

Group F
Argentina
Russia
USA
Ivory Coast

Group G
Colombia
Ghana
Netherlands
Mexico

Group H
Switzerland
Chile
Costa Rica
Bosnia-Herzegovina

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