European Leagues reject FIFA biennial World Cup proposal

FIFA's proposals to reshape the international calendar were firmly rejected by the European Leagues organisation on Friday at a meeting in Milan, Italy.

Managing director Jacco Swart said the idea of a biannual World Cup and its consequences would "lead to a severe shift in sporting and economic value from domestic to international competitions."

"(The) options which have been presented by FIFA... all those proposals are rejected," he added.

Chairman Claus Thomsen said that a steady creep towards a 'de facto' super league must also be opposed.

"It is a trend that everyone should be very aware of," he said. "A club World Cup if it expanded could become a de facto world super league, and we need to take care that football is based on domestic competitions, sporting merits and that we have an exciting comparative balance in all our domestic competitions because that's what drives us, as a culture in Europe and not just a commercial enterprise."

European Leagues represents 900 clubs in 32 football leagues across Europe.