Professional soccer players are widely opposed to the project of organizing the World Cup every 2 years promoted by FIFA, with 75% of players in favor of maintaining the current 4-year format, according to a survey carried out by Fifpro, the world players union.
Fifpro interviewed more than 1,000 male professional footballers from around the world about their desire to change the international calendar, which FIFA intends to reform. According to the union’s study, 77% of European and Asian players prefer a World Cup every 4 years, as do 63% of players from the American continent.
The questioning is even more important among African players, only 49% want to keep the current format, the rest are divided between the proposals of a World Cup every 2 or 3 years. “There is a demand in small and medium-sized markets to develop and strengthen international competitions”, said Fifpro, which wants to “encourage investment in regional competitions”.
Asked about their favorite competition, 81% of players around the world opt for their national championship or the World Cup “in their current four-year cycle”. “Only 21% of players believe that their voice is respected and that their welfare is sufficiently considered by the governance of international football”, the union’s general secretary, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Defended by the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, the hypothesis of a biennial competition, and not four years, is fought by a front that goes from the European and South American federations to the big clubs. However, it has the support of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
