The tournament quietly kicked off last week. The first match between the host South Africa and Iraq had a good turnout, but other matches failed to generate much fanfare. The Confederation Cup is a precursor to the World Cup in the following year. The host country gauges the feedback from the audience and adjusts the program for the World Cup.
However, the tournament has not been given much support by participants and critics since its birth. Maradona once critcized it as redundant, unneccessarily stretching the season into the summer.
This year due to the economic downturn, not as many fans could afford to travel from Americas, Europe and Asia to watch the matches. In addition, some fans loathe traveling so far away to the the host country. South Africa is thousands miles away from any of the major continents.
Given all of the above, you can tell there isn't much incentive for players, especially well-paid stars, to give their 100%. Because of that, some obscure teams are able to surprise the crowd. Brazil was almost forced to a draw with Egypt. The Egyptians fought hard to come back to 3-3 in the second half. They only lost to Brazil on a controversial penalty in the last minutes. The Egyptians vow to file a protest.
Regardless the Confederation Cup is always considered a lackluster event, a filler to squeeze a few more bucks from the soccer fans.
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