October 23, (THEWILL) – The European Leagues, which includes the Premier League and other British competitions, have rejected FIFA’s proposals for a biennial World Cup.
Arsene Wenger had led a consultation on the future of football, and his report recommended that World Cups be held every two years, with continental competitions such as the European Championship following the same pattern.
League representatives spoke with Wenger on Thursday to express their concerns, and FIFA has spoken with national team coaches this week. The proposals are now unlikely to pass, and FIFA has called a global summit for December 20 to come up with a plan that will be widely accepted.
Jacco Swart, the European Leagues Managing Director said: “The proposal for a biennial World Cup and consequently, biennial continental tournaments, like for instance the UEFA tournaments, as well as both options which have been proposed by FIFA for the international release windows and the way FIFA proposed the mandatory rest period for players – all those proposals are rejected.”
Swart was concerned that club football’s focus and economic importance would be diminished in favour of international football.
“The FIFA proposals from our point of view lead amongst other things from our point of view to a calendar shift from club football to national-team football,” he said. “And it leads to a severe shift of economic value from domestic to international competitions.”
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