Yes, FIFA as an organizing body is the model that would be ideal for international hockey, but unfortunately the IIHF in hockey has nowhere near the same kind of clout. There is a power vacuum.
The prime issue is that the NHL dominates the money pool and has a whip hand over the other international leagues. You have nothing like that in world football, where you might have the English Premiership, but also strong teams and leagues across Europe, from Spain to Italy to France, to leagues in Central and South America. More importantly, there is money diffused across the leagues. There is no one dominating league to compete with the world body.
FIFA can hold annual UEFA tourneys and a quadrennial World Cup, all of which are hugely successful. The key is that FIFA is the central clearinghouse and holds the undisputed title. In the hockey world, the IIHF and NHL compete, and see each other stealing potential earnings from one another. The NHL's push to go to Europe every year is a deliberate move to expand to Europe, first to develop an avid fan base, and perhaps a European division many years in the future.
I would say that if the dates of the IIHF World Championships were ever flexible, you might see renewed interest and participation from North America. Hard to say, though. The fact that the football leagues are not playing in Summer when the World Cup is played is important in making this comparison.
The main problem is that the situation has created a condition where kids in various countries have alternating priorities. Most kids born in North America want to win a Stanley Cup, then perhaps an Olympic gold. Some may want a Memorial Cup. Some in the US may want to win the local high school championship, or a college Frozen Four championship. In Europe, I get the sense that Olympic gold is #1, then perhaps a Stanley Cup, or perhaps a World Championship — it depends on one's background.
The lack of a single overarching body and stable international competitive structure means that not everyone in hockey wants the same thing, nor values the same trophies in the same order, the way they do in football. You grow up a football player, and you want to win the World Cup more than anything else, whether you grow up in Brazil or England or Spain or Argentina or Ghana or Italy. Hockey, sadly, does not have that unity.
The prime issue is that the NHL dominates the money pool and has a whip hand over the other international leagues. You have nothing like that in world football, where you might have the English Premiership, but also strong teams and leagues across Europe, from Spain to Italy to France, to leagues in Central and South America. More importantly, there is money diffused across the leagues. There is no one dominating league to compete with the world body.
FIFA can hold annual UEFA tourneys and a quadrennial World Cup, all of which are hugely successful. The key is that FIFA is the central clearinghouse and holds the undisputed title. In the hockey world, the IIHF and NHL compete, and see each other stealing potential earnings from one another. The NHL's push to go to Europe every year is a deliberate move to expand to Europe, first to develop an avid fan base, and perhaps a European division many years in the future.
I would say that if the dates of the IIHF World Championships were ever flexible, you might see renewed interest and participation from North America. Hard to say, though. The fact that the football leagues are not playing in Summer when the World Cup is played is important in making this comparison.
The main problem is that the situation has created a condition where kids in various countries have alternating priorities. Most kids born in North America want to win a Stanley Cup, then perhaps an Olympic gold. Some may want a Memorial Cup. Some in the US may want to win the local high school championship, or a college Frozen Four championship. In Europe, I get the sense that Olympic gold is #1, then perhaps a Stanley Cup, or perhaps a World Championship — it depends on one's background.
The lack of a single overarching body and stable international competitive structure means that not everyone in hockey wants the same thing, nor values the same trophies in the same order, the way they do in football. You grow up a football player, and you want to win the World Cup more than anything else, whether you grow up in Brazil or England or Spain or Argentina or Ghana or Italy. Hockey, sadly, does not have that unity.
