Open conflict
Fight against Fifa plans for a new World Cup rhythm: Uefa relies on confrontation
Antagonists in a global battle for football: Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin and Fifa President Gianni Infantino
© Mike Egerton / DPA
The dispute over the new World Cup rhythm proposed by Fifa is coming to a head: Uefa wants to meet with Fifa President Infantino so that he can explain his plans. But he doesn’t even think about it.
The dispute over the future rhythm of soccer World Cups proposed by Fifa is escalating. According to information from the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin has called for a meeting with Fifa boss Gianni Infantino. As the newspaper reports, the 55 member associations of the European Football Union discussed the proposal on Tuesday to hold the World Cup every two years instead of every four years as before.
In a letter, Ceferin then asked World Association President Infantino to arrange a summit meeting exclusively with Uefa. In it, the Swiss should explain the plans in detail. Presumably, however, the meeting will not take place. According to the SZ, Infantino prefers to schedule a meeting with ten national associations from all continents. This makes more sense for Infantino, after all, it allows him to do better work to convince small associations that are open to the proposal and are interested in a two-year cycle.
Open confrontation hardly in Infantino’s interest
An open confrontation with the strong Uefa, on the other hand, is hardly in the interests of the Swiss. Without the approval of the largest and most powerful continental association, the proposal for a shorter rhythm can hardly be implemented. Almost all the stars and the big clubs are European. Your weight matters. So he has to close the ranks outside of Uefa first.
Because in Europe as in South America the resistance is particularly great. Ex-Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who sits on the Uefa executive committee as a representative of the club association ECA, views the proposal skeptically, Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic simply calls it “nonsense”. The German coaches Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel have also spoken out against it. The European fan alliance “Football Supporters Europe” also clearly positioned itself. The international players’ union FIFPro is concerned about the development and calls for players to be included in the debate. The reaction at the DFB is more cautious. They are basically on the side of Uefa, but want to consult again.
Uefa’s sharpest weapon: the boycott
But there are big supporters for Infantio’s plans. The African Confederation Caf and the Asian AFC have sided with FIFA. As representatives of the many small national associations, they hope for more influence and income. The increase in the World Cup to 48 participants from 2026 (in Canada, USA and Mexico) was already in their interest. A shortened rhythm would increase your chances of hosting a tournament. A prominent proponent of an at least open-ended debate is coach Pep Guardola: “You can’t criminalize ideas,” said the Catalan. “The World Cup is great. It’s the biggest tournament, as a spectator I always like to watch it. If I could watch it every two years, that would be good.”
The outcome of the debate is still open, but in view of the worldwide resistance it seems highly questionable at the moment that the rhythm will be shortened. Just in case, Ceferin has threatened with the sharpest weapon that Uefa remains: the boycott.
