World Football: 5 Ways to Improve the Beautiful Game

Soccer is the most popular game in the world. Sorry to disappoint American viewers, but the American sporting triumvirate of baseball, football and basketball will never be as popular as the beautiful game.

However, the beautiful game is not perfect. I know that some soccer fans think that the game could not be improved, but it does have some flaws.

We can all think of some aspects of the game that drive us crazy and has us pulling our hair out in frustration.

Here are my suggestions for making the best game in the world even better.

Note: I didn't include penalty shootouts, because I couldn't think of a better way to solve tied matches.

Institute a Salary Cap

The growth of the EPL and the Champions League have pumped billions of dollars into the game. This has been a boon for players who have gone from Ford drivers to Ferrari drivers overnight.

The commercialization of the EPL has boosted the visibility of the game around the world and brought the best players in the world to England.

But there is a downside. Unfortunately, both the Champions League and the EPL reward stronger clubs. This might seem like a great idea, but sport is based on competitiveness. 

The money generated by the EPL has created a league within a league, where the top five or six teams, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man United, Man City and Spurs are the only ones capable of vying for the title.

It is virtually impossible for a newly promoted team to come up and win the title, like Nottingham Forest did in the late 70s. The EPL needs to find a way to spread the wealth equally so we don't have the same roster of teams exchanging the title every year (it's ironic that the NFL has a socialistic system where revenues are equally shared).

Teams like Aston Villa and Sunderland really have little chance of winning the EPL title. The best they can do is hope for a Champions League or Europa League spot. Hopefully, when the Financial Fair Play Laws come into action, they will help level the playing field.

Stop International Players Switching Countries

International football is slowly becoming second fiddle to the club game, and it isn't helped by questionable rules.

Now players are not only able to play for countries they weren't born in, but they can also change nations after they have played at the junior level.

So now it's not unusual to see players turn out for one country at the U-21 level and then play for another country at the World Cup!

This just makes international football into a bigger joke than it already is. Somewhere, Arsene Wenger is laughing quietly. 

Goal-Line Cameras

Sometimes the suits at FIFA can be annoyingly backward in their view of the game.

Goal-line cameras should have been instituted years ago.

Contrary to the opinion of Sepp Blatter, there is nothing enjoyable about seeing a good goal ruled out because the referee was too slow to catch it.

In the 21st century, where there are cameras everywhere, we should be able to have them on the soccer field, where the action is often faster than the human eye.

It's just archaic to believe that a few men can keep up with the actions of a bunch of highly trained athletes. It would be like trying to determine an Olympic photo finish with the naked eye.

Even though the technology will be implemented soon, it's an embarrassment that the media often has a better view of the soccer world than the officials. 

Stop the Shirt Tugging and Wrestling at Corners

I can't stand watching a game and seeing defenders grabbing forwards like they are in a wrestling match. The same goes for blatant shirt pulling.

Yes, John Terry, I am looking at you.

Just like committing a handball foul to stop a goal, this should be considered a professional foul. The referees can stamp this out if they start sending players off for manhandling.

Relax the Offside Rule

As someone who has both watched soccer for years and also played it, I can understand why the offside rule was invented.

It was created to stop forwards parking themselves in the opposing goal area and waiting for the ball.

But I think nowadays it just slows down the game and stops goals and scoring chances. I don't see the point of an offside decision if the attacking player is a few meters away from the defenders.

So there are my suggestions to improve the game. What are yours?