The FIFA around President Gianni Infantino continues to adhere to the proposal to hold the World Cup every two years. At a press conference on Monday, this plan was once again underlined.
FIFA President Infantino is firmly committed to the idea of hosting the World Cups every two years. “It is feasible,” the Swiss said Monday during a press conference after a summit meeting with FIFA’s 200-plus member associations. “Everyone can benefit from it.” The 51-year-old stressed that the “World Cup every two years is one of the elements we discuss when we talk about the future of football. “
In men’s football, the issue is about the schedule from 2024 onwards. In women’s football, it is about that from 2023 onwards. The FIFA Congress had decided to carry out a feasibility study, the results of which were presented on Monday. The change of the World Cup rhythm has been a major topic of dispute in football for months – the European Football Union and the South American confederation CONMEBOL are against it. Until now, the World Cups have been hosted every four years.
“We can’t say to the rest of the world, football is great, give us the money and watch TV,” Infantino said. Quite a few nations would have a better chance of qualifying for a final tournament. “My job as FIFA president is to work with everybody and think about what is good for football,” the FIFA chief said. One reason why UEFA is against it could be “that they don’t know the latest studies”, Infantino expressed.
During the conference, FIFA had presented the studies to the associations. According to the market research company Nielsen, hosting the finals in the shorter period would increase revenues by around 4.4 billion US dollars (around 3.9 million euros) over four years. UEFA had last presented a study according to which the revenues for the national associations would be reduced.
