The World Cup Discussion Thread (OOC, Version IV)

[NSWC Signups]

Cup of Harmony 81 Bid Deadline

The bid deadline for the 81st Cup of Harmony shall be Friday, September 24th, at 11:59 PM EDT.

[Nephara]

With the crisis in Nyowani Kitara increasingly dominant as an RP line, I went through the thread using the extremely scientific method of Ctrl-F-ing 'Kitara' on every page and compiled every RP in the line thus far. This may help people get up to speed with current events. I'll try and keep it updated as long as this RP arc continues.

[Sarzonia]

So apparently the officially updated KPB ranks are available in the Discord.

For those of us who don't use Discord, that's pretty shitty to keep it there and not simultaneously make it available to the public at large.

[Tumbra]

So apparently the officially updated KPB ranks are available in the Discord.

For those of us who don't use Discord, that's pretty shitty to keep it there and not simultaneously make it available to the public at large.

They're not official, and are instead the brainchild of Poafmersia using a spreadsheet.

[Mertagne]

So apparently the officially updated KPB ranks are available in the Discord.

For those of us who don't use Discord, that's pretty shitty to keep it there and not simultaneously make it available to the public at large.

I don't believe this is the case. I believe many nations (I am, certainly, but I can't speak for anyone else) are using the projected KPB rankings available from Poafmersia's "WC89 Combined Stats" page, as you have correctly identified in your post on the Football Friendly Scheduler thread. As far as I can see, there has been no official release of updated KPB rankings. I agree with you in that it would be wrong to keep this from the wider forum.

[Graintfjall]

So apparently the officially updated KPB ranks are available in the Discord.

For those of us who don't use Discord, that's pretty shitty to keep it there and not simultaneously make it available to the public at large.

Nope. These are the official ranks, which have not been updated. This link is always available, linked from the signature of the NSWC Signups forum account.

An unofficial estimation of the ranks is available here, compiled by the player PotatoFarmers. This link is linked from the signature of their forum account.

There is nothing available on Discord, IRC, or any other chat that is not available to forum users.

[Nyowani Kitara]

I'd just like to say.

A big congratulations to our 26 Qualifiers, especially our first timers- who are Kandorith, Graentfjall, Twicetagria, and Pemecutan(so far). Big day for all of you! There's nothing quite like your first successful World Cup Qualification, so drink it in(Martin Tyler anybody?), let your smile shine, enjoy the moment- it only comes once

Also, personally, I'd like to thank everybody who participated in the Nyowani Kitara storyline during World Cup Qualifying so far! I was excited and honored by the amount of participation, and the amount of people who wanted to jump in and get involved. Definitely a fun storyline, made far more fun by the fact that it ended up becoming a massive collaboration. Lots of great RPs to read on the subject, and lots of great insights I had onto the nations of basically everybody who participated. Despite the results, this has been one of the most fun times RPing I've ever had on this site.

[Nyowani Kitara]

I'd just like to say.

A big congratulations to our 26 Qualifiers, especially our first timers- who are Kandorith, Graentfjall, Twicetagria, and Pemecutan(so far). Big day for all of you! There's nothing quite like your first successful World Cup Qualification, so drink it in(Martin Tyler anybody?), let your smile shine, enjoy the moment- it only comes once

Also, personally, I'd like to thank everybody who participated in the Nyowani Kitara storyline during World Cup Qualifying so far! I was excited and honored by the amount of participation, and the amount of people who wanted to jump in and get involved. Definitely a fun storyline, made far more fun by the fact that it ended up becoming a massive collaboration. Lots of great RPs to read on the subject, and lots of great insights I had onto the nations of basically everybody who participated. Despite the results, this has been one of the most fun times RPing I've ever had on this site.

My apologies to both Kandorith and Twicetagria, who I have been reliably informed have qualified for World Cups very recently, and I somehow forgot.

[Valanora]

The official ranks are not yet updated but will be by weekend's end. They are always publicly available in the NSWC signature.

[PotatoFarmers]

As a member of the World Cup Committee, I would like to exercise my right, per Section 4 of the World Cup Constitution, to submit a proposal to change the World Cup Constitution, as well as change the current KPB formula to accommodate the proposed changes. The full wording of the proposal, titled "The Improving World Cup Experience Act" is as follows.

The Improving World Cup Experience Act
1) The number of teams in the World Cup, per Section 2.3 of the World Cup Constitution, shall be increased from the current 32 teams to 48 teams, including the co-hosts.
2) The following clause shall be added to Article 2.3.2 of the World Cup Constitution, with the numbering as determined by the World Cup President: "The tournament shall have a group stage comprising 8 groups of 6 teams, with the top 2 teams of each group advancing to a knockout stage."
3) To accompany the change in the World Cup format, the following changes are proposed to the KPB Ranking System, as stated in Section 3 of the World Cup Constitution:
i) For the Baptism of Fire, teams will now receive points divided by games played for their participation in any of the last 3 Baptism of Fire.
ii) Should the World Cup Qualifiers involve playoffs, teams who make the playoffs but fail to qualify for the World Cup will receive 1.5 points multiplied by the numbers listed for the relevant WCs.
iii) The multiplier numbers for the relevant WCs will be adjusted as follows: 10/9 for the last WC, 5/9 for the last but 1 WC, and 2.5/9 for the last but 2 WC. (Original is 8/7 for the last WC, 4/7 for the last but 1 WC, and 2/7 for the last but 2 WC)
iv) The multiplier numbers for the relevant CoHs will be adjusted as follows: 3 for the last CoH, 1.5 for the last but 1 CoH, 0.75 for the last but 2 CoH. (Original is 2.5, 1.25 and 0.625 respectively)
4) Article 3.1.1iii of the World Cup Constitution shall be amended as follows: "The ranks must be updated at the completion of the World Cup Qualifiers."
5) This proposal shall be adopted in its entirety. The format and formula changes will take effect starting from the 90th World Cup Cycle.

Not sure about the presentation of the amendment, but I am formally introducing these changes to the KPB formula, as well as proposing a suitable 48-team World Cup format. I would understand the strange timing of the proposal, given that Poafmersia has just failed to qualify for the World Cup proper as a top seed, but I think that by proposing it at this juncture, we can have adequate time to debate and discuss the amendment.

Basically, taking away all the legal-speak, the proposal is as follows:
Clause 1 and 2 will increase the number of teams for the World Cup proper to 48 teams. This is accompanied by fixing the format of the finals, that is, to state that it must be a 8 group of 6 group stage, going into the Round of 16. I am open to discussion about whether we should have a Round of 32, but the 8 group of 6, in my opinion, is non-negotiable, and that is why I forced it into the Constitution. Having 16 groups of 3 into a Round of 32 is no different from the playoff system.
Clause 3 is just some broad changes to the World Cup formula. The first 2 have been raised before, that is, not degrading the points earned at the Baptism of Fire and making it count for 3 cycles; as well as awarding 1.5 points to teams who played the playoffs (if any), but failed to make the cut. It would be slight changes that will definitely reward newer teams who make surprise runs, only to fail at the last hurdle. The last 2 parts are the tricky ones. The 3rd part is actually the same, but since the number of games played at maximum increases from 7 to 9 games with the change in format, it is only logical that the formula now reflects that. There is, however, a slight increase in weightage for the WC, to take into account the fact that we have more games. The change is partially aimed at changing the WC and CoH disparity too. The 4th part will increase the weight to the Cup of Harmony. For a perfect Cup of Harmony run, it now rewards 9 KPB points instead of the original 7.5. That is, if your run is perfect and you win everything. In reality, however, you don't always win everything, so the increments would be slightly lesser. More teams entering the World Cup might mean more teams become slightly out of reach, so a slight increase in CoH points would, in my opinion, tip the balance back.
Clause 4 is a change which I believe should be worded to reflect the current situation. It wouldn't be nice for the World Cup co-hosts to not call an update of the ranks if this loophole isn't fixed, so I have decided to fix this loophole over here.
Clause 5 is the clause that bundles the entire act together, a straightforward one to make it clear that I want the entire act to be voted upon as a whole. With the two-third requirements and everything. And also states that it takes effect at the next World Cup cycle, which is why I would prefer we get some time to debate on this.

I shall leave it here and answer any questions when I wake up.

[Sarzonia]

If the goal is to achieve parity with the RL World Cup, the motion to increase the World Cup to 48 teams, that's not happening for another five years. We don't need to do that right now.

However, I'm dead set against increasing the NS World Cup to 48 nations. I intend to vote against this proposal for that item alone.

[Tinhampton]

ii) Should the World Cup Qualifiers involve playoffs, teams who make the playoffs but fail to qualify for the World Cup will receive 1.5 points multiplied by the numbers listed for the relevant WCs.

Suppose that Unrankedistan barely scrapes into the WC90 playoffs with 37 points from 18 games (= 8.22 KPB). They face Vdara in the playoffs, lose both legs by a substantial margin and end up with 12.33 KPB. Do they really deserve more points than Cassadaigua, who topped Vdara's group after winning all of their 18 qualifiers and earning 12 KPB in the process?

(NB: I am not a WCC member with any nation.)

[Strike]

I'm fine with a 48 team World Cup, but not necessarily in forcing it to be 8 Groups of 6. We've talked for years about expanding the World Cup and the sentiment has always been that we will do it when the Real World Cup does it. Well, although its not being implemented in 2022, they've voted and made the expansion. I'd be in favor of sticking to the Real World Cup Format - and argue that since it is inherently slightly more random then the traditional 32 team format, that will only serve to encourage more ranking shakeup each tournament.

I guess, Although I only have reservations about 3 words in the proposed, I'm forced to be "against" it because of the last clause...

[Huayramarca]

As a member of the World Cup Committee, I would like to exercise my right, per Section 4 of the World Cup Constitution, to submit a proposal to change the World Cup Constitution, as well as change the current KPB formula to accommodate the proposed changes. The full wording of the proposal, titled "The Improving World Cup Experience Act" is as follows.

The Improving World Cup Experience Act
1) The number of teams in the World Cup, per Section 2.3 of the World Cup Constitution, shall be increased from the current 32 teams to 48 teams, including the co-hosts.
2) The following clause shall be added to Article 2.3.2 of the World Cup Constitution, with the numbering as determined by the World Cup President: "The tournament shall have a group stage comprising 8 groups of 6 teams, with the top 2 teams of each group advancing to a knockout stage."
3) To accompany the change in the World Cup format, the following changes are proposed to the KPB Ranking System, as stated in Section 3 of the World Cup Constitution:
i) For the Baptism of Fire, teams will now receive points divided by games played for their participation in any of the last 3 Baptism of Fire.
ii) Should the World Cup Qualifiers involve playoffs, teams who make the playoffs but fail to qualify for the World Cup will receive 1.5 points multiplied by the numbers listed for the relevant WCs.
iii) The multiplier numbers for the relevant WCs will be adjusted as follows: 10/9 for the last WC, 5/9 for the last but 1 WC, and 2.5/9 for the last but 2 WC. (Original is 8/7 for the last WC, 4/7 for the last but 1 WC, and 2/7 for the last but 2 WC)
iv) The multiplier numbers for the relevant CoHs will be adjusted as follows: 3 for the last CoH, 1.5 for the last but 1 CoH, 0.75 for the last but 2 CoH. (Original is 2.5, 1.25 and 0.625 respectively)
4) Article 3.1.1iii of the World Cup Constitution shall be amended as follows: "The ranks must be updated at the completion of the World Cup Qualifiers."
5) This proposal shall be adopted in its entirety. The format and formula changes will take effect starting from the 90th World Cup Cycle.

Not sure about the presentation of the amendment, but I am formally introducing these changes to the KPB formula, as well as proposing a suitable 48-team World Cup format. I would understand the strange timing of the proposal, given that Poafmersia has just failed to qualify for the World Cup proper as a top seed, but I think that by proposing it at this juncture, we can have adequate time to debate and discuss the amendment.

Basically, taking away all the legal-speak, the proposal is as follows:
Clause 1 and 2 will increase the number of teams for the World Cup proper to 48 teams. This is accompanied by fixing the format of the finals, that is, to state that it must be a 8 group of 6 group stage, going into the Round of 16. I am open to discussion about whether we should have a Round of 32, but the 8 group of 6, in my opinion, is non-negotiable, and that is why I forced it into the Constitution. Having 16 groups of 3 into a Round of 32 is no different from the playoff system.
Clause 3 is just some broad changes to the World Cup formula. The first 2 have been raised before, that is, not degrading the points earned at the Baptism of Fire and making it count for 3 cycles; as well as awarding 1.5 points to teams who played the playoffs (if any), but failed to make the cut. It would be slight changes that will definitely reward newer teams who make surprise runs, only to fail at the last hurdle. The last 2 parts are the tricky ones. The 3rd part is actually the same, but since the number of games played at maximum increases from 7 to 9 games with the change in format, it is only logical that the formula now reflects that. There is, however, a slight increase in weightage for the WC, to take into account the fact that we have more games. The change is partially aimed at changing the WC and CoH disparity too. The 4th part will increase the weight to the Cup of Harmony. For a perfect Cup of Harmony run, it now rewards 9 KPB points instead of the original 7.5. That is, if your run is perfect and you win everything. In reality, however, you don't always win everything, so the increments would be slightly lesser. More teams entering the World Cup might mean more teams become slightly out of reach, so a slight increase in CoH points would, in my opinion, tip the balance back.
Clause 4 is a change which I believe should be worded to reflect the current situation. It wouldn't be nice for the World Cup co-hosts to not call an update of the ranks if this loophole isn't fixed, so I have decided to fix this loophole over here.
Clause 5 is the clause that bundles the entire act together, a straightforward one to make it clear that I want the entire act to be voted upon as a whole. With the two-third requirements and everything. And also states that it takes effect at the next World Cup cycle, which is why I would prefer we get some time to debate on this.

I shall leave it here and answer any questions when I wake up.

I'll put my two pence here in form of three arguments.

1. We have established, as a generally accepted concensus, that the NS World Cup shall be like RL States World Cup as we know in terms of overall format (having 32 teams in a format of 8 groups with four teams). Although, for simplicity and convenience sake, we can adapt some of the RL principles in a progressive way.

How so? First, the new format for the finals will start in 2026, but the cycle will officially begin at the end of the 2022 WC Final. So, we could start using the new 48 team format for the first 2023 NS WC. Secondly, Poaf's idea of 8 groups of 6 should be the simplicity sake breakup I mentioned, as the 16 groups of 3 proposed in RL is too short, the idea of having bye days could be untasteful for some of us.

Having more match days to RP in World Cup Finals can enhance RP efforts from many users, motivate them to bring more high-quality works and extend collaborative efforts like the one made with Kitara in this cycle.

2. In regards of points for the World Cup points, I don't agree downgrading the multiplier while upgrading the Cup of Harmony one at the same time. In a normal scenario, the current multipliers for WC should be kept while the Cup of Harmony ones proposed here should be kept as presented.

3. For the rest of amendments, Baptism of Fire Multipliers, playoff rewards for surprising runs are great ideas worth considering, as of now playoffs aren't taken in consideration for the rankings. Although, those changes considered for the KPB Formula would need to consider the need to provide help for the rank maker, as the obligation of presenting mid WC ranks would increase workload, hence, another person to help in case of unforseen RL circumstances, burnout, etc. should be considered.

[Equestrian States]

I remain opposed to expanding the NSWC to 48 teams, especially before the RLWC does.

[Strike]

How so? First, the new format for the finals will start in 2026, but the cycle will officially begin at the end of the 2022 WC Final. So, we could start using the new 48 team format for the first 2023 NS WC.

I agree that if we stick to strictly mirroring the official WC then the second the final whistle is blown in Qatar, 48 teams is fair game. Until then I've got plenty of ideas about using the playoff system to get to something 48-team like

[Cassadaigua]

I am not in favor of adding weight to the Cup of Harmony. It is a tournament for 33rd place, in all due respect. It needs to stay in its role, and not have it be more appealing to win the CoH over going 0-0-3 or 0-1-2 in the World Cup.

I will vote against the proposal on that alone.

It might be best, Poaf, to not have so many actually different points in one proposal. Someone might agree with 1, 2, 4, 5 and hate 3. Therefore, it's voted down; even though on their own, 1, 2, 4 and 5 could have passed.

I am not against a 48 team World Cup in the future, but not in the near future.

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

The Improving World Cup Experience Act
1) The number of teams in the World Cup, per Section 2.3 of the World Cup Constitution, shall be increased from the current 32 teams to 48 teams, including the co-hosts.

There's no particular need to consider this until 2026; there's no real need to even discuss it until the conclusion of the 2022 RL tournament.

I imagine that when RL does catch up with us here, discussion of this point will cause considerable anguish, and no little disagreement. But since there's no need to discuss it until the RL tournament expands, I feel this proposal is premature and unnecessary.

I note this is a spirit of friendly constructive feedback, but I feel our potato farming friends would have been better offer making a series of separate proposals rather than bundling several different reforms together into a single proposal since this more or less guarantees that the entirety of the reforms will fail as most of us will have a specific reform in the list that we oppose.

[Flavovespia]

ii) Should the World Cup Qualifiers involve playoffs, teams who make the playoffs but fail to qualify for the World Cup will receive 1.5 points multiplied by the numbers listed for the relevant WCs.

Suppose that Unrankedistan barely scrapes into the WC90 playoffs with 37 points from 18 games (= 8.22 KPB). They face Vdara in the playoffs, lose both legs by a substantial margin and end up with 12.33 KPB. Do they really deserve more points than Cassadaigua, who topped Vdara's group after winning all of their 18 qualifiers and earning 12 KPB in the process?

(NB: I am not a WCC member with any nation.)

In that scenario, Cassadaigua get 15 points, because they qualify for the World Cup and get 3 bonus points from that.

EDIT- IMO with the playoff rank, I think it should be more dynamic, to cover scenarios where the playoffs aren't just a simple "one round of two legged ties, winner goes through". Something like 1.5*(no of qualifying teams through playoffs/no of eliminated teams through playoffs) for example.

[Valanora]

I commend Poaf for attempting a solution to one of the most talked about issues, the ratio of participants to those who qualify, it takes a lot to put thoughts into actions. That being said, I am not sure the proposal is the right solution to the issues it is attempting to address. I am also hesitant to expand the WC before the RLWC does.

[Milchama]

The Improving World Cup Experience Act
1) The number of teams in the World Cup, per Section 2.3 of the World Cup Constitution, shall be increased from the current 32 teams to 48 teams, including the co-hosts.
2) The following clause shall be added to Article 2.3.2 of the World Cup Constitution, with the numbering as determined by the World Cup President: "The tournament shall have a group stage comprising 8 groups of 6 teams, with the top 2 teams of each group advancing to a knockout stage."
3) To accompany the change in the World Cup format, the following changes are proposed to the KPB Ranking System, as stated in Section 3 of the World Cup Constitution:
i) For the Baptism of Fire, teams will now receive points divided by games played for their participation in any of the last 3 Baptism of Fire.
ii) Should the World Cup Qualifiers involve playoffs, teams who make the playoffs but fail to qualify for the World Cup will receive 1.5 points multiplied by the numbers listed for the relevant WCs.
iii) The multiplier numbers for the relevant WCs will be adjusted as follows: 10/9 for the last WC, 5/9 for the last but 1 WC, and 2.5/9 for the last but 2 WC. (Original is 8/7 for the last WC, 4/7 for the last but 1 WC, and 2/7 for the last but 2 WC)
iv) The multiplier numbers for the relevant CoHs will be adjusted as follows: 3 for the last CoH, 1.5 for the last but 1 CoH, 0.75 for the last but 2 CoH. (Original is 2.5, 1.25 and 0.625 respectively)
4) Article 3.1.1iii of the World Cup Constitution shall be amended as follows: "The ranks must be updated at the completion of the World Cup Qualifiers."
5) This proposal shall be adopted in its entirety. The format and formula changes will take effect starting from the 90th World Cup Cycle.

I'm for it. I've been wanting a 48 team World Cup since 3 or 4 cycles after we switched over from Jolt.

I'm fine with the playoffs modifier but don't particularly care one way or the other. Modifying stuff for the playoffs good. I think making the playoffs should come with a slight bonus so that makes sense.

I'm sure people are already in their camp about the 48 team World Cup but I'm still going to make my argument because, well, maybe I can convince somebody.

The biggest difference between NS and RL is that all nations are on theoretically equal footing in NS in the way that they are not IRL. I.e. San Marino is never going to have the population of the US and that means they are less likely to have talented soccer players who can qualify to the World Cup. We are in the Golden Age of Luxembourg football right now and nobody noticed because they just got promoted to Group C in the Nations League (and had a person score in actual CL). Luxembourg will probably never qualify to a World Cup because they don't have enough people and Luxembourger fans are essentially aware/ok with that outcome. The goal of the national team is to do well and get better, not necessarily win the World Cup. There is no NS team like that. Every NS team's goal is to win the World Cup (eventually, obviously it is understood that winning won't happen every cup).

With that said, the biggest way to make sure more people can win the World Cup is to expand participation in the World Cup. That does not mean unlimited expansion because at some point qualifying should still be prestigious and the tournament proper should mean something based on history. Then the question becomes what's the best way to make something both prestigious but still somewhat accessible and the best way to do that is to have about 33% of people be able to qualify. Right now about 180 or so nations sign up for the World Cup. With a 32 nation cup that means only 18% of nations qualify which is way too small. Moreover, it leads to a scenario where it becomes almost impossible to break through because most of the Top 20 or so will sign up and qualify. Then there is a pileup where people cannot advance beyond a certain ceiling. A 48 team World Cup moves that needle to 27%. While that is a little under 33% the next number, 64, is 36% is above 33% and I'd rather be too short than too high because of the prestige factor. Moreover, approximately 33% used to be the number when we were on Jolt. We used to have between 100 to 120 nations sign up and 32 teams qualify. 48 essentially resets that number to a similar number to Jolt.

The biggest argument against 48 in the olden days of 2012 was that it wasn't realistic and we should be realistic. However, FIFA has changed the numbers so that no longer applies. (Literally the first thing I thought after FIFA did that was "I wonder how this would affect the NS WC" and I wasn't even involved at the time). So that argument doesn't matter. The argument about cycles doesn't make sense why should we go with a worse system for a few months/years because realism? If we have a better system we should use it.

Now, I'll make argument about why 48 is better. The other problem with 32 people is the problem of continuing participation. In other words, how do we maintain people to continue to be in the World Cup? Since the goal is to win, eventually, every single person wants to do that. When people join, they are aware that they probably won't win their first WC or second but that it is possible with some luck and good RPing. However, the easiest way to see that winning is possible is through progress which really means rank increases and that a user's nation does slightly better every tournament. (I finished 7th in my group my first WCQ, then 5th, then 3rd, then playoffs, then qualifying, then advancing etc.) Progress leads to retention because as long as a nation keeps doing slightly better every WC it is very easy to feel motivated to RP and be involved. When the progress stops it becomes harder to motivate, not because you "RP to win" but because after awhile the motivation is harder and if the results aren't there then it just becomes another chore. I'm an example of this, I left NS because I hit a wall with results, knew the only way above that wall was to qualify and do well. I also knew that it wasn't going to happen with 32 teams and left. I finally got the motivation back in July when I rejoined. I'm not unique many people hit that wall after being active RPers and do not see progress for multiple cups and then either quit NS altogether (like I did) or quit doing the WC. To maintain people we need to give them a realistic goal and realistic progress marks. A 48 team WC makes both of those goals easier which is good for the WC in the long term because it means we have more participants and more long term participants. The number of active long term participants is higher than it was when I started but not much higher and proportionally probably about the same. That speaks to the problem that I'm talking about and I think 48 teams solves that problem and will make the WC better.

Somewhat related: I like Poaf's idea of 8 groups of 6 being mandatory as it actually leads to a good format for the WC unlike the FIFA 48 team WC is an extremely stupid format that will be hated (and probably scrapped after 2026). It solves our format problems as hosts don't have to compete on formats and we don't have to follow the dumb thing that FIFA is doing.

[Eura]

I remain opposed to expanding the NSWC to 48 teams, especially before the RLWC does.

I share this position at this moment in time.

[Eshialand]

I'm for expanding to 48 teams for the same reason as Milchama. 32 qualifiers worked back when there were fewer teams entering, but these days, it just seems far too exclusive. It's hard to break into the World Cup these days, and that may turn off new users. (I know it isn't helping me at all).

That being said, I wouldn't necessarily mind if we waited for the RLWC to expand, so long as we don't use that stupid 16x3 format FIFA plans on. I'd just prefer it if 48 teams came a bit sooner, that's all.

[PotatoFarmers]

Let me clarify why I locked the entire proposal together. The main reason why the changes are locked together is purely because the change in KPB formula was considered with the change in format in mind. The alternative was that we submit multiple proposals for voting, which I very well will do so, especially given that the past few hours alone has generated quite some opposition in different parts of the proposal.

I have previously lined out why a 48 group format is a possible solution to all of our problems. Having more qualification spots reduces the number of qualification matchdays, and that slightly shortens a cycle. Having more qualification spots gives newer users more motivation, because if their target is to make the World Cup, then any number of additional spots really encourages it. And Milchama above has done a fantastic job explaining why.

I think there are some points we need to make clear, especially the idea that the increase in CoH multiplier would make entering a CoH "more rewarding" than entering the World Cup. I think such a suggestion is clearly baseless, because there simply is more reasons (OOCly and ICly) for entering the World Cup.
1) The prestige of having made it to the World Cup is definitely there.
2) You never know what performance you are getting at the World Cup until you go for it. (See: Poafmersia's debut in World Cup 87. Went 2-0-3, going to the Quarterfinals.)
3) In the case of a 48-team 8 group of 6 format, a larger World Cup means that teams would likely have more opportunity to score the points they need to achieve more points than a Cup of Harmony.
4) It is worth noting that not all the teams who qualify for the World Cup would be able to get such a good run in the Cup of Harmony (to get more KPB than a poor World Cup run). Pot 2/3/4 teams frequently upset the pecking order to qualify instead, and when some pot 1 teams fail to qualify for the World Cup, you would expect the good runs in the Cup of Harmony to belong to the Pot 1 team, not the Pot 2/3/4 teams who caused an upset and qualified for the World Cup.

There were also some concerns about the proposed double change to the KPB formula, on the Cup of Harmony and World Cup proper multiplier. I did the math:

1) About current KPB formula:
i) Currently, the best run possible at the Cup of Harmony nets you 7.5 KPB points. That run is a perfect run, where you win every single game in the Cup of Harmony. Yep, no draws.
ii) The most recent team to do that is Main Nation Ministry at Cup of Harmony 75, albeit with a bit of controversy over there.
iii) For the last 5 Cup of Harmony, the maximum number of KPBs earned were: 6.56 (CoH80), 6.87 (CoH79), 5.91 (CoH78), 5.83 (CoH77), and 6.94 (CoH76).
iv) For a World Cup team to get more points than any CoH run, they would need to achieve 1-1-1 record in the group stage. Or 1-0-2 with a penalty win/loss in the Round of 16. 4 points net, and that will earn (3+4)*8/7 = 8 KPB points. (The formula, for the newcomers, is (3+n)*8/7, where n is the number of points obtained by the team in the World Cup. The 3 in 3+n represents the 3 qualification points earned by every team who qualified for the World Cup.
v) In reality, however, looking at the last 5 Cup of Harmony, a 1-0-2 record in the group stage, and bowing out with that, is simply enough. The team would have obtained (3+3)*8/7 = 6.86 KPB points. A 0-2-1 record in the group stage earns (3+2)*8/7 = 5.71 KPB points, quite far from the maximum of CoH76/79, but quite similar to the maximum earned in CoH77/CoH78.
2) About my proposed change:
i) Moving on to my proposed formula change: 8 groups of 6 format; Multiplier changed to 10/9 instead of 8/7; Cup of Harmony multiplier increased to 3 from 2.5.
ii) The best run possible for the Cup of Harmony is increased to 9 KPB, from the original 7.5 KPB points. By the current formulas, that would require teams to earn 1-2-0 at the World Cup to match the perfect run.
iii) With the series of changes, however, the numbers change to a 1-2-2 at the World Cup, obtaining (3+5)*10/9 = 8.89 KPB points for a run similar to a perfect run. So for a sample 5th seed in a 6-team group stage, it means beating the 6th seeds, drawing the 4th and the 3rd seeds, and losing to the 2 higher seeds.

If people still have concerns with regards to having a rule that controls the World Cup format, then let me just say that it is simpler and much neater for the community as a whole. Removing the format while changing the formula leads to potentially slippery situations where the format changes the effect of the KPB awards.
For instance, in the current constitution, there is no rule dictating that I cannot have an alternate format for a 32-team World Cup. If I know I am going uncontested, I could propose to have the World Cup proper format be 4 groups of 8, with the top 4 entering the Round of 16. That increases the number of games played to 11, but I wouldn't care about that, because games played isn't part of the KPB formula for the World Cup proper. A perfect run nets a total of (3+33)*8/7=41.14 KPB points (a standard format would only net (3+21*8/7) = 27.43 KPB points for a perfect run), so the points are tilted upwards.
If we are going to make it a "simple" change, by saying that the multiplier is 8, and the formula is 3 + number of points earned divided by number of games played [ie. (3+pts)*8/games], then bids suggesting a shorter format might be rewarded, because now every point in the World Cup "has more value for the KPB". And that might affect the WC-CoH balance that we established in our current formulas.

As to why I chose an 8 group of 6 format, I looked at the 2 nearest alternatives.
i) 16 groups of 3, the format adopted for the 2026 RL World Cup - Just 48 teams entering an extended playoffs. The multiverse-wide playoff system has been built into the NS World Cup system, so I don't see what benefits this bring.
ii) 12 groups of 4 - Works, but the number of games played by every team differs. It could be workable to just give teams going straight into the Round of 16 a bye, but big association football tournaments IRL rarely use a play-in round, and so I decided not to adopt it. I would be okay with this being adopted, however.

[Tikariot]

I'm for it. I've been wanting a 48 team World Cup since 3 or 4 cycles after we switched over from Jolt.

I'm fine with the playoffs modifier but don't particularly care one way or the other. Modifying stuff for the playoffs good. I think making the playoffs should come with a slight bonus so that makes sense.

(snipping, so not to clutter the thread with quoting the whole post, not to emphasize what's left)

Very good and valid points. I agree with thee.