World Cup every two years? This would damage Fifa football and itself

opinion

The big football associations reliably manage to make themselves less and less popular with the fans. With corruption affairs, cooperation with dodgy rulers and only half-hearted action against racism and discrimination, they have lost a lot of trust in recent years. Now a new plan is causing displeasure: Fifa is considering holding the soccer World Cup every two years in the future – instead of every four years as before.

The Fifa technical advisory group around the former Arsenal trainer Arsène Wenger has spoken out in favor of this. The World Cup would then take place in the even years, the continental competitions such as the European Championship in every odd year. That cannot be in the interests of the fans – and also not in the interests of professional football itself.

Soccer World Cup would lose its appeal

Should the new rhythm actually be introduced, it would be tantamount to devaluing the world championship. The World Cup is one of the greatest sporting events around the world, for fans and footballers alike. It is something special, a real highlight – and that is largely due to the fact that it only takes place every four years. Anyone who organizes a big football tournament every year turns it into an everyday event that loses its appeal for everyone involved.

Many fans are already tired of football

There are enough cautionary examples in international football. Many fans are already showing a certain amount of football fatigue. The ever-increasing inflation of competitions and appointment calendars has played a large part in this. The group stage of the Champions League hardly has any sporting appeal because there are too many clubs playing that cannot stand up to the top teams. Competitions like the Europa League or the newly created Conference League are, at best, neglected by fans. And even with the national team, qualifying games only attract a few from behind the stove.

Even without a reform of the World Cup rhythm, this trend will continue in the next few years: from 2024 there will be more Champions League games, from World Cup 2026 48 instead of 32 teams will take part in the World Cup. Football has become an inflationary good. The fans wanted to see big games, Arsène Wenger explains the attempt to host a World Cup every two years. But how big are these games when they seem to be happening all the time? The effect would likely wear off very quickly. A victory against another big football nation or even a title would no longer have the same value as it is today – comparable to sports such as handball and tennis, where there are virtually no breaks between the major tournaments.

Fifa makes its premium product as desired

In the end, as is usually the case, it is primarily about the money. More world championships mean potentially more countries that will participate and where the games will be watched. More games mean increased audience revenue, television money and more opportunities for sponsors. In the medium term, however, FIFA could seriously harm itself if it designed its premium product as freely as possible. It is not for nothing that marketing professionals like to rely on artificial scarcity – and grandmothers on the slogan: “If you want to be accepted, make yourself seldom.”

The new rhythm has not yet been decided, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants to be clear by the end of the year. The change would then probably apply from 2026. Should it really come, it could result in a scandal: Uefa boss Aleksander Ceferin has already threatened to boycott the European teams. That would be another quake of a completely different magnitude.