A majority of football supporters support the thought of a “more frequent” World Cup, consistent with a web poll published Thursday by FIFA within the midst of a debate on its biennial World Cup project.
According to the IRIS/YouGov study administered among 15,000 people “with an interest in football”, 55 percent of respondents want to ascertain the highest international competition more often than every four years, says football’s world administration.
The survey showed that 30 percent would really like the planet Cup to be held every two years, 11 percent per annum, and 14 percent every three years, a highly unusual frequency in international sport.
The survey nevertheless reveals strong differences consistent with the geographical areas and therefore the age of the respondents.
The most favorable towards this increased frequency is the “younger generations altogether regions” and “developing markets”, while older football lovers remain attached to the tradition of a four-yearly tournament which has been in situ since the primary World Cup in 1930.
This finding are going to be followed by an “expanded” survey of 100,000 people in “more than 100 countries”.
FIFA’s controversial proposal of a biennial World Cup , first floated within the 1990s, was revived in March by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now head of football development at FIFA.
The central argument is that a World Cup every two years would create more profits that would be distributed to federations in Africa, Asia and South America, who have a greater reliance on FIFA funds than the rich European leagues.
Wenger says the thought would be to possess a final phase every summer from 2025-2026, alternating World Cups and continental tournaments just like the European Championships and Copa America. Qualifying matches would be grouped together in October, or in October and March.
However, the plan has been rejected by UEFA, the South American football Confederation, the planet Leagues Forum and therefore the powerful European Club Association, all of whom are already battling an overloaded schedule.
The FIFPro players’ union denounced Tuesday “the absence of a true dialogue” on the topic , remarking the “natural physiological limits” of footballers.
Football fans have also voiced their opposition to the proposal.
“It is legitimate for FIFA to try to to marketing research , since it’s something to sell,” Ronan Evain, coordinator of the Football Supporters Europe network (FSE).
“But if it wants to consult representative organisations, it knows where to seek out us.”
Any final judgment on the proposal would need to be made by a FIFA Congress, which usually takes place in May.
