New World Cup format is against the basic principles of football, insists Aleksander Ceferin
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned that a potential European boycott of the World Cup could materialize if FIFA plans to conduct the tournament every two years. Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been pushing for major reform in his role as FIFA's chief of football development.
Arsene Wenger, in his role with FIFA, has proposed that a World Cup should be conducted every two years as he believes that a structural and hierarchical change is necessary to reduce travelling time and the number of matches played in the top level of international football. It has seen FIFA start the process to review and investigate the international match calendar with there said to be a final vote taken on Wenger's reforms.
The 71-year old insists that the new plans, which has been created for the entirety of international football, have been well received by several entities around the world. Brazil legend Ronaldo appeared at a virtual news conference, with Wenger, and expressed his support for the idea with Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel and Australian international Tim Cahill coming forward to provide their backing for Wenger's plan.
However, UEFA president Ceferin voiced his displeasure for the new plans in a written letter to the executive director of Football Supporters, Ronan Evain last week and has now continued to double down on his comments.
"We can decide not to play in it. "As far as I know, the South Americans are on the same page. So good luck with a World Cup like that. I think it will never happen as it is so much against the basic principles of football,” Ceferin told The Times.
"To play every summer a one-month tournament, for the players it's a killer. If it's every two years it clashes with the women's World Cup, with the Olympic football tournament. The value is precisely because it is every four years, you wait for it, it's like the Olympic Games, it's a huge event. I don't see our federations supporting that," he added.
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