WORLD CUP USA ’94 / THE FINAL : Spotlight : IN SUPPORT OF REVOLUTION

“In the space of a month the most popular sport on the planet has been subtly and irrevocably reshaped. This quiet revolution might one day be considered no bad thing, even if its genesis can be found in expediency and compromise.

“The essence of football has remained unspoilt for more than a hundred years. The universal wisdom was that there was no need to tinker. But it is blindingly obvious that the 1994 World Cup has been tailored to meet the demands of a virgin audience, the affluent American division of the two billion people around the world who have paid handsomely to witness the experiment. . . .

“Few would argue with the claim that this has been the cleanest World Cup of them all, certainly the most vibrant, the most accessible. . . .”