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LONDON. — The body representing professional football competitions in Europe, European Leagues, said yesterday it was against FIFA’s proposal of staging a World Cup every two years.
On Wednesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the extensive shake-up would cut out “too many meaningless matches”.
European Leagues, whose board of directors included members from the Spanish La Liga, the English Premier League, the German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1 and Italian Serie A, met on Tuesday.
“On this occasion, the Leagues have firmly and unanimously opposed any proposals to organise the FIFA World Cup every two years,” the group said in a statement.
“The Leagues will work together with the other stakeholders to prevent football governing bodies to take unilateral decisions that will harm domestic football which is the foundation of our industry and of utmost importance for clubs, players and fans across Europe and the world,” it added. Earlier this week, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin warned hosting the World Cup every two rather than four years would “dilute” the tournament.
Fans from across the globe were also in favour of keeping the World Cup status quo.
The overwhelming majority of fans oppose a biennial World Cup cycle, and if FIFA had bothered to engage with us on the subject. — AFP.
Online Reporter