4320: Scotland are Unofficial World

by : Hugh Larkin

Alex McLeish is now managing the current World Champions. No, it isn’t a shock call from the Italians after discovering his hidden Azzuri ancestry- when Scotland beat Georgia at Hampden yesterday they became world champions. There is a bit of a catch though. The Scots only become ‘Unofficial’ World Champions. This concept has been in the game ever since international football began and there are people who prefer it as a guide to the top dog status in soccer.

The basic idea is similar to boxing- a team takes the title after a meeting with the current holders. Forget tournaments, qualifiers, FIFA rankings, it’s a straight one on one (or 11 v 11) encounter that settles matters.

Georgia happen to be the current holders under this system. They got there by a tough examination too, taking the crown off Uruguay and defending it against Turkey. The line of winners is traced back to the very first international fixture between Scotland and England and then other sides had the chance to challenge as international football expanded.

There’s something appropriate about the Scots putting in a bid as they were the champions under this concept for many years in the early days and have held this prize longer than any other nation. There’s also a more modern pedigree to it.

After England had won the World Cup in 1966, England’s first defeat as the new kings of the game came against Scotland at Wembley in 1967. That match at Wembley is always remembered as Jim Baxter’s game when he inspired a tremendous 3-2 win.

Many Scots at the time took to taunting England that they should now be considered world champions after beating the holders of the Jules Rimet on their home turf. Many of them didn’t realise at the time that they were arguing for an old tradition.

There is something pleasing about the random nature of the Unofficial World Championship. Because the matches are one offs it has led to some unusual names bearing the crown.

As well as Georgia, Angola had a decent spell on top of the pile back in 2004. It always helps if you can get it and then play a lot of mediocre opposition -Botswana, Rwanda and Mozambique were some of Angola’s unsuccessful challengers. The baton had passed to Africa when the Republic of Ireland lost to Nigeria.

The title holders are often one of the heavyweights of the game but there are periods when the title shifts to some of the minnows. The Scots will fancy their chances against Georgia as this is the first time they have defended away from home.

Of course, the Euro 2008 points are what really matters next week but now Scotland are the UWC title holders they then take on the ‘real’ World Champions in a contest that could unite the two versions.

The boxing reference is deliberate because there are actually several versions of the unofficial World Champions- some afficionados refuse to recognise defeats in extra time or penalty shootouts etc.

The UWC is a bit of fun for fans to banter with each other. All Scots will be desperate for those Europe 2008 points and in terms of status, Scotland’s rise to 16th place in the FIFA rankings is a better guide to their progress in the past few years. Titles are always nice though.

Hugh Larkin
15 March 2007