Current Format
Currently, 32 places are available in the final tournament. One of them is reserved for the host nation, but if two or more nations host the competition jointly, each is awarded a place. The 2006 Finals were the first in which an automatic entry was not guaranteed to the previous champion; 2002 winner Brazil qualified for 2006 at the top of their qualifiers group. The decision to remove the reigning champions' automatic spot, announced in November 2001, was said by FIFA to address the issue of the returning champions being at a disadvantage to their fellow competitors due to having not played a competitive match in the previous two years. The problem was amply demonstrated at the 2002 FIFA World Cup as returning champions France tumbled out in the first round, finishing bottom of their group having failed to score a single goal. However, Italy, defending champions from 2006, finished bottom of their group in 2010, despite playing in the qualifying matches.
FIFA decides beforehand the number of spots awarded to each of the continental zones. For the 2014 World Cup, the following numbers will be used:
- UEFA (Europe) – 13 berths
- CAF (Africa) – 5 berths
- AFC (Asia) – 4 berths
- CONMEBOL (South America) – 4 berths, plus the host Brazil
- CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean) – 3 berths
- 2 berths for the winners of play-offs between the best team from the OFC (Oceania), as well as additional teams from the AFC, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF. The pairings for these play-offs will be determined by an open draw.
These numbers vary slightly between tournaments (see above).
Qualification in all zones ends at approximately the same time, in September–November of the year preceding the finals.
The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations and over time. The systems to be used in 2014 are outlined below.
Read more about this topic: FIFA World Cup Qualification
Famous quotes containing the word current:
“The current of our thoughts made as sudden bends as the river, which was continually opening new prospects to the east or south, but we are aware that rivers flow most rapidly and shallowest at these points.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)