UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said holding a World Cup every two years would “kill football” and warned European countries could boycott the tournament.
Legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been tasked with examining whether shortening the gap between the finals from four years to two is possible.
Wenger’s feasibility study follows a request from the Saudi Arabian football association to FIFA Congress in May while CONMEBOL – South American football’s governing body – made a similar request in November 2018.
The Premier League and the EFL already expressed their opposition to a biennial World Cup staged every two years along with other members of the European Leagues group.
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Ceferin believes it is “against the basic principles of football” and criticised FIFA for not consulting UEFA before making their plans public.
Asked how UEFA could block a World Cup taking place every two years, Ceferin told The Times: “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.
“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.
“I hope they [FIFA] will come to their senses because I don’t see the right approach to go everywhere except the confederations, not to speak to us. They didn’t come, they didn’t call, I didn’t get a letter or anything. I just read in the media.”
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