FIFA wanted to make some major changes in their calendar and host World Cup in every 2 years instead of 4, with a huge controversy going on finally the decision was made and got disallowed.
The proposals FIFA presented to reshape the international sport calendar is firmly rejected by European Leagues, that includes the Premier League, EFL and SPFL among its members.
A consultation on men’s national team football led by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now Fifa’s chief of global football development, is proposing a major international tournament every June, longer but fewer in-season international breaks and mandatory player rest periods.
European Leagues managing director Jacco Swart stated about this proposal FIFA presented that, the proposals created a “severe shift” in the balance between club and national team football in sporting terms and in economic value; representatives of the leagues expressed their views directly to Arsene Wenger in a call on Thursday. Any change in frequency of the World Cup or continental finals like the Euros is neglected by him. He also thinks player’s rest periods should be determined at domestic level.
The renewed opposition from European Leagues comes in a week where the prospect of biennial World Cups becoming a reality appeared to wane.
It had been expected that member associations would vote on the plans at an extraordinary Fifa Congress before the end of the year. Fifa has instead called a global summit for December 20 where it hopes to present a “consensus” on the calendar, but likely without any vote.
Reaching a consensus in two months seems ambitious, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino describing himself as a referee in the middle of a “riot” in a press conference on Wednesday and calling on everyone involved to be “calm and rational.”
Infantino describing himself as a referee in the middle of a “riot” in a press conference and calling on everyone involved to be “calm and rational.” He admitted “everything is open” in terms of what that consensus position might look like. He said he thought it was possible to reach a compromise position before the virtual global FIFA summit being convened in late December.
FIFA has been actively pushing the idea of a biennial World Cup, rather than staging the competition every four years.
