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FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’

FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’

FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’- Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refuses to back down on his plan for a World Cup every two years. FIFA chief Gianni Infantino was forced into a significant retreat last month when three of his key […]

FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’- Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refuses to back down on his plan for a World Cup every two years. FIFA chief Gianni Infantino was forced into a significant retreat last month when three of his key allies turned their backs on the World Cup idea.

It meant the planned D-day meeting, penciled in for next month, was instead turned into a “summit” for further discussion.

Arsene Wenger backing up biennial World Cup- But Wenger, speaking alongside David Dein at a special fundraising event for the Twinning Project at the London Palladium, said: “The calendar is fixed until 2024 and nobody knows what will happen after that. It needs to change because we need a more modern relationship between national team football and club football.

FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’

FIFA World Cup: IOC supports calls for ‘wider consultation’ on FIFA’s biennial World Cup plan

Covid has added to the problems. Today the whole world plays in Europe and that means that in the international break the players have to travel from there back all over the world for qualifiers.

FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says 'it gives more countries a chance'
FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’ Source: GETTY

The quality of competition for young players doesn’t fit everywhere in the world and that is what we want to change,” continued Wenger. “But I believe we have to give more countries the chance to play at a World Cup, which is why I came up with this idea of a tournament every two years.

Wenger, in his role as Fifa’s global head of football development, has also launched a new online training academy center designed to offer drills from grassroots to elite level and be accessible around the world.

I don’t decide that. It will be up to the 211 member associations of Fifa,” explained the 72-year-old. “In Europe, the infrastructure is there, in England too. But this is about the rest of the world.

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FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’

FIFA World CUP: UEFA president warns FIFA counterpart of ‘terrible consequences’ ahead of the vote for biennial World Cup

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino against pushing ahead with a vote on the plan for a biennial World Cup saying there would be “terrible consequences” to such a move.

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The FIFA Council is meeting later on Wednesday and the plans for a new international match calendar, including a World Cup every two years, are on the agenda.

FIFA has planned for a decision to be made over the proposal in December and sources have indicated they may hold a vote at a ‘global summit’ of all 211 member associations on Dec. 20.

FIFA World Cup: Belgium manager speaks against having a World Cup every two years
FIFA World Cup: Belgium manager speaks against having a World Cup every two years

Officials from the Italian, Romanian, German, Portuguese and other federations made clear to Infantino their view that the changes would be damaging to the game and also criticized the way the consultation process has been handled.

Razvan Burleanu, president of the Romanian Football Federation, reminded Infantino that his body was one of those European associations who had supported him in his election to FIFA president.

FIFA World Cup: Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger backs Biennial plan, says ‘it gives more countries a chance’

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