UEFA outlines four 'real dangers' with FIFA's proposal for biennial World Cup

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) on Wednesday pinpointed four 'real dangers' associated with FIFA's proposal for orgsing Men's and Women's World Cup every two years.

In May 2021, the FIFA Congress mandated the FIFA administration to conduct a study into the feasibility of a Men's and Women's World Cup every two years.

While waiting to learn the detailed results of the study commissioned by the FIFA Congress, UEFA acknowledged that FIFA has presented a proposal entailing a doubling of World Cup final tournaments as of 2028 as well as Confederations' final tournaments as of 2025, combined with a massive restructuring of the dates reserved by the international match calendar for the matches regularly played by all 211 FIFA member associations.

"We are grateful for the attention reserved to the UEFA European Championship, with the proposed double frequency of its final event, but we prefer to address such a sensitive matter with a comprehensive rather than speculative approach," UEFA in an official statement said.

UEFA stated that it is disappointed with the methodology adopted, which has so far led to radical reform projects being communicated and openly promoted before having been given, together with other stakeholders, the chance to participate in any consultation meeting.

The European orgzation mentioned the real dangers of the biennial World Cup plan. "There are real dangers associated with this plan," the statement added and mentioned the below points.

The dilution of the value of the No.1 world football event, whose quadrennial occurrence gives it a mystique that generations of fans have grown up with; The erosion of sporting opportunities for the weaker national teams by replacing regular matches with final tournaments; The risk to sustainability for players, forced to engage in summer high intensity competitions every year instead of longer recuperation breaks in alternate years; The risk for the future of women's tournaments, deprived of exclusive slots and overshadowed by the proximity of top men's events.

On September 14, UEFA and its 55 member associations asked FIFA to orgse a special meeting with them to be able to voice their concerns on the impact of such plans. UEFA and its 55 member associations have to date not yet received a reply from FIFA on this request.

( With inputs from ANI )

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