Compromise Cup

I could not have avoided noticing Champions Cup being discussed here. In Finland, too.

I remember covering the European Cup, as it was called at the time, in Stockholm in December 1997. Finnish champions VFT played seven games in four days. Morning games, afternoon games, evening games. Out of them, four were uninteresting whippings of Belgian, German, Norwegian or Russian opposition resulting in numbers like 28-0 or 24-0. The remaining three developed into tight losses against two Swedish teams and Alligator Malans.

I recall managers protesting about high costs, useless matches and days wasted. A tighter tournament was needed letting international top teams face each other. Last year, Finnish champions SPV travelled to Mlada Boleslav, as it turned out, to play one game in which they were eliminated by SVWE. A tournament tight enough, I suppose.
This year in Borås, the Finnish teams got to play two games and were not heard complaining. I do recall Swedes voicing concern about winning it all in just two games.

Either way, European Cup or EuroFloorball Cup or Champions Cup or whatever it is called these days, is a compromise. It should be a gathering of national champions of a large part of the floorball world but consist of tight games only. It should let the teams play as many games as possible but only games that matter. Which means games with a chance to play for the trophy. It should be long enough to feel like a proper tournament but not cost too much in tickets, lodging and working days lost. Evidently, the present compromise is not yet good enough.

Pressed to comment on the matter on Twitter in Finland, the general secretary of IFF John Liljelund said participating nations are to meet later this year to discuss the system and eventual changes. Whatever the result, it will still unavoidably be a compromise of some sort. And of course, IFF nations will also have to decide whether deciding the international floorball club championship title is worth all the trouble at all.

I remember attending the first women’s European Cup in Helsinki in 1993 with Swedish VK Rasket beating HC Rychenberg in the final and Regula Kindhauser topping the scoring league. The teams were still sizzling with excitement for the new concept but a lot of that seems to have faded since.