Every four years, the FIFA World Cup is a spectacle that transcends sports. How does hockey compare with football on the world stage, and where will the Champions Hockey League fit in?

by Derek O'Brien

With much of the world's attention today focused on the FIFA World Cup final, it gives cause to think about what kind of spectacle the Champions Hockey League's one-game final will be when it gets played on 6 February.

No, of course there isn't anybody foolish enough to think it will be an event anywhere near that scale, nor will it for the forseeable future. Association football, or soccer as it's known in some parts, is the most popular spectator sport in the world and has a strong foothold on every continent, whereas ice hockey, or simply hockey in the places where it's most popular, is mostly limited to Europe and North America, though it is making inroads on other continents.

What's more, the FIFA World Cup has become the biggest spectacle of the biggest sport, is over 80 years old, and is a national team event, which adds patriotism into the mix. The most comparable event hockey has is probably the men's tournament at the Winter Olympics, which is also held every four years and is the only time national teams have unrestricted access to all the best players in the world. Also, as part of the Olympics, it gains attention on a worldwide level.

In Europe, the annual IIHF World Championships are hugely popular, with even normally-passive fans wearing their national colours and gathering to watch in public places. The more hardcore fans of the sport passionately support clubs in their national leagues. In some European countries, the popularity of hockey rivals and even surpasses football, which opens the mind to the possibilities of club hockey on this continent.

"All you have to do is look at the Champions League in football. That's the greatest club-team competition in sports," says Paul Romanuk, the London-based Canadian sportscaster who has worked on hockey telecasts at both the international and club levels on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. "Of course hockey isn't football, but there's no reason why this can't be just as big in the hockey world."

Europe has had a club football championship since 1955, and the Champions League has existed in its current form since 1992. That is well-established, but it should be remembered that hockey also had a club championship that dated back to 1966. It's had a few stops and starts since then, but if it finally takes root this time -- and many think it will -- it will only strengthen the national club leagues and, together with the National Hockey League and the big international events, push the sport to a bigger place in the world. More is better.

"There's room for more than one big championship without taking away from the importance of the other," says Champions League CEO Martin Baumann. "For example, in football, the FIFA World Cup was established long ago and more recently the UEFA Champions League, but they don't compete with each other. And the Champions League does not take away the prestige from the Spanish, English or German football leagues. We want to work toward something like that."

There's a lot of work to be done, but they're not starting from scratch. There already is a lot of excitement about the upcoming Champions HOckey League season, and a lot of it in some of the less-traditional hockey countries. Fans in Briançon and Nottingham have been quite active on social networks and are already buying preliminary round tickets at a steady pace.

Chances are, you will watch today's World Cup final, even if you're not from Argentina or Germany, or even a big football fan, for that matter. In early February, people in South America may not be buzzing about the Champions Hockey League final, but you can bet fans in at least two cities will be. If you need evidence of that, look back to the last Champions League final in 2009, when ZSC Lions Zurich upset Megallurg Magnitogorsk to win it, then beat the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks a few months later to claim the Victoria Cup. They're still bragging about it in Switzerland, and Lions fans have been chomping at the bit ever since for a chance to defend their title. Now they have it.