Football players have joined sides with UEFA, the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A after a FIFPro survey revealed that 75% of players disapproved of a biennial FIFA World Cup.
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino proposed the idea late last year, with the new World Cup cycle beginning in 2024, and with FIFA earning US$4.76 billion during the last World Cup year, it gives a large incentive to put the idea on the calendar.
The FIFPro survey involved 1000 players from six continents and 70 nationalities, which was part of a broader study into overloading players’ workloads in the men’s game.
FIFPro’s general secretary, Jones Baer-Hoffman, said that most footballers around the world have the same preference, which is to have the World Cup every four years.
“At the same time, the results demonstrate the importance of domestic league competitions to players,” Baer Hoffman said.
“These leagues are the bedrock of our game and we have to do more to strengthen them both for the sake of players and the overall stability of professional football,” he said.
Of the European and Asian athletes, 77% opposed the idea, 66% opposed the idea in the Americas, while only 49% opposed it in Africa.
Female athletes were excluded from the survey, with FIFPro’s director of global policy and strategic relations, Sarah Gregorius, explaining why on The Far Post Podcast, when she said a separate discussion was needed in the women’s game given the vast differences in competition availability.
Such a grand idea has given fans, players and governing bodies their own opinion, with FIFA releasing global survey results, where 63% of football fans wanted to see a World Cup every two years, compared to 11% completely rejecting the idea.
Additionally, only 21% of players revealed that they believe their voice is respected and that their well-being is considered, which could tie into UEFA’s threats to boycott the biennial World Cup if the plan went ahead, while the English Football Association believes the plan is bad idea and won’t even come into fruition.
