FIFA president Gianni Infantino has plans to change the landscape of international football over the next few years. Plans have emerged of the FIFA World Cup being held every three years, a departure from the format right now where it is held every four years.
Rumours suggest that the primary motivation behind this change is the financial return that Qatar generated. And this is one of the main points that fans have hit back at. The revenue generated at the Qatar World Cup was £6.8 billion, an increase of £840 million from the 2018 edition.
Gianni Infantino plans to hold the World Cup every three years
The new plans that the FIFA president has in store suggest that the World Cup will be held every three years. In the interim period, one year will have the Club World Cup – which is set to undergo a change in format.
32 clubs are set to compete in the new format of the tournament starting from 2025. But, it does not have the support of the players, the clubs or the international federations just yet.
And in the second year, the continental competitions like the Copa America and the Euros will be played. The international calendar is being finalised for the 2024 to 2030 period, which means any changes will have to wait until the end of the decade.
Protests surrounding player fitness and FIFA’s greed for money have been the main points against any change in format. Gianni Infantino plans to stay president by running for another term until 2031, which means he could implement the new plans himself.