Few activities in life transcend religions, poverty, political affairs as does football or soccer to those of you who have rugby or American football played in your country. Football is a world game, where there's space, there will be a football and players looking to score a goal.

FIFA have essentially preserved the game  and kept it free of too many rules or scope for interpretation. Understand the off-side rule and you have mastered perhaps the most complex rule of the sport. As a sport, a professional sport, there is scope for improvement. Two areas are glaring in my eyes.

Firstly those spectacular injuries that players suffer, yet remarkably recover from in minutes. I mean, in almost all other sports played by men, to show pain, or discomfort is to show a weakness, an area which can be exploited. Yet in football to shed a tear or cry out in pain is standard. By feigning injury, the game is slowed down, an opposing team can lose their rhythm and ironically there is increased risk of injury as players who play in below freezing temperatures at times quickly cool down. Lawmakers should stipulate perhaps that if a player cannot resume play within 30 seconds, he be substituted, to preserve the flow of game. If a player is genuinely injured, the quicker he is stretchered or helped off, the quicker  he can be stabilised and treated. Referees have been asked to cut down on dives, let's see them order substitutes for those phantom injuries. I am sure you will see a lot less 'injuries' and a faster moving game.

Perhaps the most heartbreaking way to lose a match is via penalty shootout. Football in a penalty shootout becomes a test of nerves over skill. To have showcase events like a Champions League match or World Cup final go down to penalty shootout is ludicrous, because at that point it ceases to become a football match. How about this then. When a game is tied after 90 minutes, 2 players should be removed from each side, so essentially start golden goal period with 9 players. If the tie is unbroken after 15 minutes, another 2 players come off. With 9 or 7 players, imagine then the game opening up, it is inevitable then a goal will result. While a shootout is tense, a 9 on 9 or 7 on 7 would be far more exciting and in my mind a fairer result.

Why am I making these preposterous suggestions? Now lets look at Owen, who does he play for? How about Ronaldhino, or Kaka? No they don't play for Newcastle or Barcelona, nor AC Milan, rather they play for you! They play for the sporting public, the supporter. If supporters stopped watching TV which bring in huge advertising revenue and subscriptions, if they stopped going to games and purchasing merchandise, there would be no professional football. It is up to administrators at FIFA HQ to keep the game pure, which is paramount, but also make it fair and I think my suggestions above aid in making the game fairer, as well making it more of a spectacle for us.

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