Denmark out-performance South Korea in the first World Education Championship (WEC)

The Battle for it All. Education and Football

When worlds collide, there can only be one winner. The first World Education Championship (WEC), hosted by NJ MED, an American NGO partner with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals education mission to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Created the World Education Championship to bring attention to what nations are excepting from their education systems, how much they are investing in education, and what are those results.

Facts that can show what is what and what is how. For example, what are countries doing to educate their children? What results are they trying to accomplish, and how do they get to those results?

No one seems to value how the sausage is made. Or what ingredients are being used to generate the end product.

The WEC’s mission is to explore what is in the sausage to give it that flavor. By comparing, what nations’ expectations are from their education systems (School Life Expectancy), how much they are investing in education (Government Investment in Education), and how the finished product looks (Adult Illiteracy Levels).

Again, no one seems to value the way things are the way they are. And how we can address the problem.

Imagine if we could get people to ask questions. The right questions, like why does my country not value education for my children, why does my country not invest more in education, and why does my country want to limit the success of its people? Good questions. So let’s ask them.

The WEC wants the answers to these questions and makes sure countries answer them. So to encourage nations to reply. During every Football World Cup, the WEC will be held to demonstrate what nations are doing to answer these questions.

While the world’s biggest sporting event is taking place, the world’s biggest education event will be taking place also. Comparing the 32 nations that compete in the 2022 World Cup performances – School Life Expectancy, Government Investment in Education, and Adult Illiteracy Levels.

Here are the results:

Group A

Netherlands, Ecuador, Qatar, Senegal

Group B

USA, Wales, England, Iran

Group C

Argentina, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Mexico

Group D

Australia, Denmark, France, Tunisia

Group E

Germany, Japan, Spain, Costa Rica

Group F

Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Morocco

Group G

Switzerland, Brazil, Serbia, Cameroon

Group H

South Korea, Portugal, Uruguay, Ghana

ROUND OF 16

Netherlands over Wales
Denmark over Argentina
Poland over Australia
USA over Ecuador
Germany over Canada
Portugal over Switzerland
Belgium over Japan
South Korea over Brazil

QUARTER-FINALS

Germany over Portugal
Denmark over Netherlands
South Korea over Belgium
USA over Poland

SEMI-FINALS

Denmark over Germany
South Korea over USA

THIRD – PLACE

USA over Germany

FINALS

Denmark over South Korea

In the 2022 World Cup Finals, Argentina over France. However, in the World Education Championship, Argentina made the 16 rounds, and France did not get out of the Group stage in the World Cup.

However, the World Education Championship winner Denmark did not get out of the World Cup Group stage, and South Korea fell out of the World Cup in the Round of 16.

Who do you think got more world attention?