As much as 75per cent of men’s professional footballers opt for maintaining the current World Cup cycle and want it to be played every four years, global players’ union FIFPRO said in a statement on Tuesday.
In November FIFPRO surveyed more than 1,000 players from six continents, including more than 70 different nationalities, following a proposal by football’s governing body FIFA to switch to a biennial format.
Regional breakdown showed that 77per cent of players from both Europe and Asia prefer the World Cup to occur every four years, with 63per cent of footballers from the Americas sharing their view.
Among the African players, 49per cent favoured the tournament every four years, with the remainder split between a two or three-year cycle, the survey showed.
Only 21per cent of the participants believed their voice was respected and their well-being considered in the governance of international football.
“The player survey shows most footballers around the world have a clear preference to play the World Cup every four years,” FIFPRO General Secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said.
“At the same time, the results demonstrate the importance of domestic league competitions to players.
“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.”
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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