UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has spoken out about FIFA’s plan to hold the World Cup every two years. The competition is held every four years right now, but Arsene Wenger has been vocal about his idea to increase the frequency of the tournament.
Ceferin said that he would not consent to participation in the World Cup if it was to be held every two years. He also added that the South American countries under CONMEBOL are also in agreement with their decision.
‘We can decide not to play in it,’ Ceferin told The Times. ‘As far as I know, the South Americans are on the same page. So good luck with a World Cup like that. I think it will never happen as it is so much against the basic principles of football.
‘To play every summer a one-month tournament, for the players it’s a killer. If it’s every two years it clashes with the women’s World Cup, with the Olympic football tournament.’
Real Madrid winger and Wales captain Gareth Bale has also said that he is not in favour of having a World Cup every two years. This is despite Wales not qualifying for the tournament in over half a century.
‘The value is precisely because it is every four years, you wait for it, it’s like the Olympic Games, it’s a huge event. I don’t see our federations supporting that.’
‘I hope they [FIFA] will come to their senses, because I don’t see the right approach to go everywhere except the confederations, not to speak to us,’ added Ceferin.
‘They didn’t come, they didn’t call, I didn’t get a letter or anything. I just read in the media.’
‘It might be good for UEFA financially but the problem is we would be killing football like that. We are killing the players,’ said Ceferin. ‘I don’t see the clubs allowing the players to go and that would divide us completely.
‘We have seen the clubs saying they don’t want to let the players go now [if they have to quarantine]. But what if they say we don’t let them go at any time anymore. I don’t know if these people know what they are playing with.’
UEFA are also planning changes to the Champions League in recent years. The players already have to deal with the Nations League and Euros in between the club season. They have all been critical of the physical demands it poses on them, and as a result, a World Cup every two years might not come to pass after all.
