FIFA considering World Cup every two years
"We believe the future of football is at a critical juncture. The many issues that football has faced have now been further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic."
FIFA will carry out a feasibility study on holding the World Cup and the women's World Cup every two years after backing a proposal at its annual congress on Friday.
World Cup every two years: a sporting decision, say FIFA
The two competitions are currently held every four years but the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) put forward a proposal for a study of the impact of switching to every two years.
- A world women’s league.
— Anton Toloui (@SkyAnton) May 21, 2021
- Both the Men’s World Cup & Women’s World Cup every two years.
FIFA is looking into whether both of these are feasible.
Both are terrible, terrible ideas... please do not do this.
Learn from the #ESL, don’t double down on bad plans. https://t.co/JGRpqJLlIJ pic.twitter.com/qBu1cgNf4S
"We believe the future of football is at a critical juncture. The many issues that football has faced have now been further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic," said SAFF president Yasser Al-Misehal.
"It is time to review how the global game is structured and to consider what is best for the future of our sport. This should include whether the current four year cycle remains the optimum basis for how football is managed both from a competition and commercial perspective," he added.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino called it an 'eloquent and detailed proposal' - in what sounded a lot like the arguments put forward by the recent European Super League clubs - with 166 national federations voting in favour with 22 voting against. Infantino said the study would look into the qualification systems for the tournaments.
What a surprise, FIFA’s grubby paws were all over the SuperLeague Franchise project all along. Infantino now impersonating a puppy sitting next to a large pile of 💩 in a closed room trying to say it’s nothing to do with him. Top work from @tariqpanja https://t.co/16RqIDdEG9
— Price Of Football (@KieranMaguire) May 21, 2021