Gianni Infantino’s biennial World Cup proposal involves ‘not losing the youth’

Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, defended holding the World Cup every two years for, among other reasons, “Not to lose the young people” who need encouragement not to disengage from football, after the summit with 207 member federations in which a new international calendar was addressed this Monday.

FIFA presented a feasibility study on its proposal, which includes that the World Cup be played every two years, and at its conclusion Infantino announced that a final decision has not yet been made and that it may not be done in March, when the annual congress of the organization he presides over takes place in Doha.

Starting in January, he said, the 700-page study on the feasibility of changing the calendar will begin to be analyzed in detail and then, without a specific date, reaching a final agreement. For Infantino, it is important to dialogue and listen to all the parties involved to reflect and reach agreements.

While reaching that point, he dismembered the reasons why it would be interesting for the entire soccer planet to organize a World Cup every two years. One of them would be focused on young people, who with less time between each World Cup, in their opinion, would become more hooked on football.

“If we don’t want to lose the youth of football, we have to offer them possibilities to excite them. There is nothing like a World Cup every two years for this. A poll has been taken and the younger generation wants a World Cup more often after more than 100,000 votes“, He said.

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The goal, he said, “is to analyze the situation around the world.” “My job is to work with all parties and reconcile positions and see what is good for the world of football and how we can move forward so that there are fewer gaps. How to invest in youth soccer to give opportunities to all countries. We continue working on it ”, he added.

In addition, he said that a new calendar would be “viable” from the economic and sporting point of view and interesting to “invest” more money in football and in turn “reinvest” in its development throughout the world.

“It is a very important project that will help close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Everyone would benefit, the great, the small, the rich and the poor. Everyone would have additional possibilities to play and have additional income protecting the leagues and thinking of the fans. This is what has been presented today ”, he clarified.

Infantino said that today 70 percent of the income of the national teams is in Europe and 30 in the rest of the world. With the FIFA proposal, he pointed out, the percentages would equalize to 60-40 without prejudice for Europe because it would earn 2 billion euros more than with the current 70 percent.

“The World Cup every two years is just one of the elements of the study. We talk about the future of football, of the impact we want for the world of football. We cannot tell the rest of the world that it is very good, that football is global. In some countries, they can have the World Cup every two weeks because they have the best players, but in other countries they cannot see the best players in a lifetime, “he said.

Asked if the World Cup would lose prestige and interest when it is held every two years instead of every four, he argued that this prestige does not depend on the time it takes to organize between one and the other, but on other more important factors.

“The prestige of the World Cup is absolute. It does not depend on its frequency. If not, it would have to be played not every four, every 40 years and it would be ten times more prestigious. A World Cup is prestigious for the quality it has and for the global impact. 4,000 million people watch the World Cup and studies show us that there would be no problem, “he said.

“Not only because of the World Cup on the issue of the impact of football. The football ecosystem in general would have very specific and clear advantages. The cake is bigger for everyone. This ‘more for all’ allows us to invest in the development of footballers in the world. It is something very important, “he added.

Regarding the rejection expressed by UEFA and Conmebol to the Infantino initiative, he pointed out that “they are opposed because they did not know the data presented today”; He was “sure” that “now they will reconsider and support the project without fissures” and detailed the concerns that the South American member federations conveyed to him.

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“They told us that it was essential to play all 18 qualifying games. That is possible with the schedule playing two World Cups. And other interesting matches could be played between South American teams. More qualifying matches compared to today, more interest. The Copa América can be played every two years or every four, as they prefer. The first proposal to organize every two years was from Conmebol. Then he changed his mind. This debate is going to stay. They want to advance in this sense. We will see what the final decision is ”.

On whether the new FIFA project can be similar to that of the Super League that some European clubs tried, he made it clear that, for him, the “argument” is just “the other way around” because they are contrary ideas.

“Now is the openness, participation and inclusion of everyone in football. It is giving everyone opportunities. This is the fundamental principle of this project. All those who talk about the structures of football, the pyramid and solidarity should support this project or at least debate it in a constructive way ”.

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Finally, he explained what will be the steps that will be followed in the following months before approving or rejecting the new project. “Starting in January, we are going to see what situation we find ourselves in, what can be improved. This is not a precise date. We want to make the best decisions. I am not going to commit to anything in Congress, ”he commented.

“A decision may have even been made earlier in an extraordinary session. Or you may not take any during. We are flexible. We have presented today a great study and before committing ourselves to the next phases in a concrete way, we want to see the reactions and see if it progresses quickly or if it deserves more time ”, he concluded. (D)