UEFA release statement condemning FIFA plans for biennial World Cup

UEFA have criticised FIFA’s plans to hold the World Cup finals every two years, highlighting four ‘real dangers’ that they pose to football.

The FIFA congress began investigating the feasibility of a biennial World Cup back in May, and have stepped up their efforts of making such a prospect a reality.

UEFA condemned these proposals in a statement released on Wednesday, and listed four key concerns about FIFA’s plans – the dilution of the value of the World Cup, the erosion of sporting opportunities for smaller nations due to more final tournaments, the health risks posed to players, and the risk to women’s international football in such a packed football calendar.

“These are just some of the serious concerns that the FIFA proposal provokes at first glance and they cannot be dispelled simply with unsubstantiated promotional slogans on the supposed benefits of a thicker calendar for final tournaments,” the statement read.

“UEFA is of the opinion that the future of the international calendar should be the subject of genuine consultation and exchange between FIFA, the confederations and key stakeholders of competitions, kicking off with an open discussion on perceived problems and considering a range of solutions that will be identified in the course of the debate, taking into account the interest of the game and the legitimate point of view of the different parties.

“In this phase, the respect for a consultation process with the stakeholders – which should be unbiased – would suggest abstaining from promotional campaigns of unilaterally pre-determined concepts that nobody has been given the possibility to see in detail and which have wide-ranging, often unexpected, effects.”