The Carling Nations Cup

So Ireland are the British Champions…sort of.

Winners of the inaugural Carling Nations Cup between the two Irish nations, Wales and Scotland, or is that winners of the Carling Nations ‘Flop’?

Only 529 people attended the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for Wales’ wooden spoon battle with Northern Ireland, and even with the tournament on the line and the hosts looking to win it, less than 18,000 turned up.

So is this a display that a British Championship is not something that is in demand from the fans of any of the four nations involved? Is there any point in hosting the 2013 edition in Wales?

Wales coach, Gary Speed, says he is ‘not too sure’ they will be hosting it in two years time. Speed has been one of the tournament’s staunchest critics and was adamant that this will ‘definitely’ be the last Nations Cup game played in this format.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland boss, Nigel Worthington, has also questioned whether there will be a second edition of the tournament:

“This tournament has been difficult for everyone and supporters have voted with their feet.”

This was before voicing similar concerns to those that are always used by the English when the prospect of a return of the Home Championships is aired, saying;

“Having three games against British-style opposition isn’t ideal preparation (for major championship qualification) and I’d prefer to select foreign opposition.”

This tournament has not been the easiest for Nigel Worthington or Gary Speed in terms of selection. Worthington has been hampered by a plethora of pullouts which has left him selecting from English club academies and the Irish league. Whereas Speed has had his ranks decimated, first by an upcoming Swansea v Cardiff derby, and then both sides participation in the Championship Play-offs. Scotland boss, Craig Levein has remained positive about the cup though. No surprise - he has been able to pick very strong squads throughout.

Those crowd levels still remain a huge negative casting a shadow over the whole tournament. Something Wales striker, Robert Earnshaw, agrees with – despite his view that it is ‘a great tournament’ - he has been quoted as saying the organisers should ‘look at what they can do better’ in order to bring in the crowds.

So, why have fans stayed away?

Well, anyone would be turned off by the prospect of David Cotterill up against Lee Hodson. Good players both, but hardly international class, even less so when played at a neutral venue. Truth is that as long as this tournament is hosted in one specific country, the games not involving the hosts will have non-existent crowds.

There has been neutral internationals played in the British Isles of late that have seen crowds of 20,000 plus. These contain the star names of Brazil, Argentina or Nigeria though; none of these four sides contain any more than one or two players who would be anywhere near that class.

For this competition to survive, it needs every game to be played at the home of one of the competing sides. If, over the course of a qualification campaign (two season), three friendly dates are set aside, this allows everybody to play each other once whilst leaving spaces free for friendlies against continental or world opposition.

This allows for better crowds and builds the competition over a period of time to a natural crescendo. Otherwise, expect Northern Ireland v Scotland in front of 500 people at Cardiff City Stadium come 2013.