When they introduced the three-point line in basketball it was to increase the number of exciting, high-scoring games. The result? The average number of points per game actually declined as players were lured into optimistic shots from "down town". A good lesson, one might hope, in regulation and unintended consequences. Maybe so, but not one heeded by the "suits" at FIFA or the FIA. Today it was revealed that despite a ball that is 4 grams lighter and swerves like a boomerang, fewer goals have been scored in this world cup than in almost any other. After lengthy couch-based research, I think the same thing is happening - football is being reduced to a dull series of pot shots from 30 yards. By regulating for excitement, FIFA have created boredom.

There is a similar story of unintended consequences in Formula 1. On top of the more obvious regulatory blunders, to save money, engines now have to last not one races but two. However, my favourite F1 insider assures me that building an engine this resilient can cost more than twice as much!

So those who regulate our sports should do two things: wise up and read The Long Game and give up tweaking the games we love.

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