The manager of Manchester City Pep Guardiola and the manager of Liverpool football club Jurgen Klopp have contrary views on the proposed FIFA World Cup every two years.
Pep Guardiola said he sees nothing bad about the idea and that he should be given a fair hearing. While Jurgen Klopp insisted that the idea of hosting the World Cup every two years was motivated by financial gains.
Former Arsenal’s manager, Arsène Wenger, who now serves as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, is the brain behind the new proposal.
The proposal does not only seek to change the World Cup circle from once in four years to once in two years, it seeks to reduce the number of FIFA international breaks and reduce the number of times players would have to travel for international duties.
At the last general meeting of FIFA, the majority of the members agreed that the proposal should be examined further before it would be submitted to the lawmaking body of FIFA.
Also, Arsene Wenger is said to be 100 percent convinced that the World Cup every two years is the right direction to go because the current circle is outdated.
“Today’s calendar is outdated,” he said. “The current four-year cycle was established in 1930, yet 133 countries have never been at the World Cup.”
If Wenger’s wish come to pass, the FIFA World Cup would no longer hold after every four years but it would become a biannual football event like the European Championship and other continental tournaments.
One of the biggest fears concerning the proposed FIFA World Cup every two years is the possibility of clashing with continental competitions. Another is the fact that footballers would have more games to play and less time to rest which might not be too good for their well-being.
The president of the European football governing body, UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin claimed that the proposal could kill football and threatened that European countries might boycott the tournament.
The South American federation CONMEBOL, has spoken up against the proposed World Cup every year. Also, Spanish La Liga president Javier Tebas has insisted that the change might cause a big problem to domestic league football.
“There’s no other sport in the world with such a relentless calendar. We all know why it’s happening. Whatever people say that it’s about giving different countries opportunities, in, the end it’s all about money,” Jurgen Klopp said ahead of Liverpool Premier League game against Leeds United scheduled to kick off at 16:30 on Sunday.
“That’s fine. But in the end, at one point somebody has to start understanding that without the players – the most important ingredients of this wonderful game – we cannot play it.”
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola argued that “Always I’m glad when new ideas are put on the table to discuss. You don’t have to criminalize ideas.”
“The clubs and the leagues defend their position, FIFA defends theirs”, Guardiola added ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League game against Leicester City scheduled to kick off at 15:00 today, September 11.
“That’s why when we talk about global football ideas it is ridiculous because everyone just looks after themselves.
“The World Cup is amazing. It is the biggest tournament and, as a spectator, I always enjoy watching it. If I could watch it every two years that would be good.
“I’m completely in agreement with Arsene Wenger in that if it isn’t the World Cup then it will be another competition – the Confederations Cup or create a new tournament. What I have seen Arsene has proposed is a tournament of the biggest quality.
“I’m glad that one person who has done incredible things in world football – not just the Premier League – has put the situation on the table. We are going to talk about the good things and bad things related to it.”
