‘Vast majority’ of footballers reject biennial World Cup plan, says players’ union Fifpro
Plans to make football’s World Cup a biennial event have received a major blow after global players’ union Fifpro said its members overwhelmingly opposed the idea.
The proposal, which has caused a stand-off between world governing body Fifa and European federations and clubs, was rejected in a survey of male players by Fifpro.
“The vast majority of them are in favour of maintaining the current rhythm [of playing the tournament every four years],” Fifpro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann told City PM “The players, with a very, very large majority, have a very clear view on that.”
Fifpro, which represents more than 65,000 professional male and female footballers from 67 countries, is due to publish the data from its survey today.
Baer-Hoffmann said players were concerned not only about the health risks of playing more football but also the commercial value in holding the tournament more frequently.
“There are various reasons – from the load to them being fathers and mothers of children and husbands and wives of spouses – but there is also an understanding that there’s a certain value in the scarcity of the World Cup,” he said. “If you just provide the same thing [more often] then it might not have the same appeal.”
Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino have been leading the calls for biennial World Cups for men and women. The last edition of the men’s tournament, in 2018, contributed $5.4bn (£4bn) of Fifa’s $6.4bn revenue for the 2015-18 cycle.
European governing body Uefa and leading clubs’ group the ECA have resisted the plans, which would threaten the status of Uefa’s European Championship and place more strain on teams’ most valuable assets, their players.
Members of the International Olympic Committee also criticised the proposal earlier this month, saying biennial World Cups could cause “immeasurable damage” to world sport.
Fifa met with Fifpro and English players’ union the PFA last month as part of a consultation process on the future of the game.