UEFA president: Biennial World Cup would ‘cannibalize’ women’s soccer

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has long been an outspoken opponent of FIFA’s proposal to hold a men’s World Cup every two years, an idea repeatedly pushed by former Arsenal manager and current FIFA chief of global football development Arsene Wenger but that’s been widely criticized by players union FIFPRO, the European Leagues group, and, recently, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber, among others. 

Per Reuters, Ceferin once again hit out at the plan during comments made at the Expo 2020 Dubai fair.

“Europe and South America are against (the plan) and those are the only (continents with) World Cup winners in history. The problem is that the World Cup has to be every four years to be interesting,” Ceferin said of a biennial World Cup. 

“Second, if it would be every two years, it would cannibalize women’s football because it would be at the same year as the women’s football (World Cup), other sports, the Olympic Games – many mistakes. It’s simply a bad idea and it will not happen because it is a bad idea, not because we are opposing it.”

Ceferin continued: 

“And it’s the biggest football event — it has to be every four years. But it’s very clear – 75% of fans around the world reject the idea (of a biennial World Cup).”

Ceferin previously threatened that European football governing bodies could boycott participating in World Cup tournaments held every two years, and the World Leagues Forum officially requested that FIFA abandon the project on Dec. 3. 

As noted by ESPN, Bayern Munich star striker Robert Lewandowski spoke on Monday about the mental and physical challenges a biennial World Cup would create for the sport’s top players. 

“I’m not a fan. We already have so many games to play every each year, so many tough weeks, not only matches because we have a lot of weeks of preparation whether for the season or for big tournaments,” Lewandowski explained. 

“If we have a World Cup every two years, the period where footballers will be able to play at a high level will decrease. It is physically and psychologically impossible. If you want to last in football, you need resting periods.”