Football World Cup every two years: what does the Fifa plan mean?

questions and answers

The rhythm of the World Cup divides the football world. The world association Fifa is pushing for a far-reaching reform and a departure from the four-year cycle. The European Football Union Uefa and its allies are massively critical. The dispute already seems so bogged down that there will definitely be a loser in the end.

What does the reform plan look like?

The international game calendar is set until 2024. Germany hosted the European Championship that year. The USA, Canada and Mexico have also already been chosen to host the 2026 World Cup. After that, in the opinion of the Fifa technical advisory group, everything should be different: The world championships are played in even years, the continental tournaments such as the European Championship and Copa America are played in odd years. Fifa director Arsène Wenger pointed out on Thursday that the World Cup rhythm has existed for over 90 years and has therefore fallen out of time. But there shouldn’t be more games. On the contrary, Wenger advertised that fixed periods of rest were planned for the professionals in the new game calendar and that fewer trips would be necessary due to significantly fewer but longer periods of absence for international matches. One option is that the leagues are only interrupted in October / November before the tournaments are not due again until the summer.

Who is against the reform?

Aleksander Ceferin, President of the European Football Union Uefa, threatened to boycott. A number of other organizations are against the idea – the European Club Association ECA, associations of leagues in Europe (European Leagues) and worldwide (World Leagues Forum) as well as several fan associations. “The value lies precisely in the fact that the World Cup is held every four years,” said Ceferin in the British “Times”. “You wait for that, it’s like the Olympic Games – a huge event. I don’t see our confederation supporting that. I hope FIFA will regain its senses.” Several representatives from the Bundesliga have also criticized the plan in the past few days – there are often warnings against even more games.

Who decides on the game calendar?

The Fifa statutes state that the Fifa Council “after consultation with the confederations” determines an international game calendar that is “binding for the confederations, member associations and leagues”. The 37-member council includes nine Uefa representatives, including Peter Peters, currently interim president of the German Football Association. The World Cup host is determined by the Fifa Congress. Wenger said he wanted to take all 211 Fifa member associations with him on the way to the new rhythm. However, it seems unlikely that everyone will vote at first, at least no Ordinary Fifa Congress is planned for this year. Fifa President Gianni Infantino said he hoped for clarity by the end of the year.

What about other sports?

Playing the world championship only every four years is nothing special in football compared to the core team sports. The basketball and volleyball players are also looking for their world champions in this rhythm. In handball, on the other hand, a World Cup is played every two years. The former Brazilian soccer world champion Ronaldo also drew this comparison: “In tennis, the main tournaments are played every year – and the quality does not suffer.” Together with the World Cup, the Olympic Games are considered the major sporting event par excellence. The winter and summer games are only held every four years, but are now shifted by two years, so that the International Olympic Committee IOC earns a lot of money every two years.