Following FIFA’s discussions of moving the FIFA World Cup to a biennial event, which received backlash from major leagues and clubs around the world, a study has shown the change could cost leagues and UEFA around €8 billion (AUD$12.6 billion).

The study, completed by KPMG and FTI’s Delta Partners, said the losses would mostly come from a reduction in TV rights values, as well as match day revenues and commercial partnerships.

This would be a result of changing the event to every two years opposed to the current format which sees the tournament take place every four years, which would force domestic leagues to majorly change their structures, broadcast rights deals and traditional scheduling habits.

The report was commissioned by the major European leagues including the English Premier League (EPL), LaLiga, and Serie A, as well as the European football governing body, UEFA, who claimed the move would harm both domestic and international club competitions.

The report, which studied the potential effect on Europe’s big five leagues, the EPL, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1, as well as the MLS, Mexico’s Liga MX, Japan’s J1 League, and South Africa’s Premier Division, said the 40 largest domestic competitions could lose €5 billion (AUD$7.9 billion) simply in broadcast rights value.

UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin, said he would suggest European nations boycott the competition after the proposal was first made.

The report is set to be discussed at the World Leagues Forum Annual Meeting this week, with Europe’s top women’s football leagues having discussed how the biennial World Cup format could be ‘profoundly detrimental’ to women’s football.

Speaking in November in response to the backlash of the proposal, FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, said: “It is understandable that those who are against are those at the top, it happens in every sector of life when there are reforms and changes, those who are at the top don’t want anything to change because they are at the top.”

“And they are afraid maybe that if something changes, their leadership position is at risk.

“We understand that and we complement and applaud them for having been so successful in reaching the top.

“But at the same time, we cannot close the door, we need to keep the door open, we need to give hope and opportunities for the entire world,” Infantino said.