EXCLUSIVE | Ex- Man City defender opines on biennial FIFA World Cup; 'Adds more stress'

FIFA has been contemplating the concept of holding a World Cup every two years and some of the topmost sporting organizations in the world like UEFA. and even the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and others have voiced their concerns against a biennial FIFA World Cup. In an exclusive interaction with Republic World, former Manchester City defender Terry Phelan spoke about why it is not a good idea to have a biennial FIFA World Cup.

Phelan said: "The World Cup is a prestige tournament. One of the biggest tournaments in the world of sport as we know. You look forward to coming to a World Cup every four years. When we’re looking at the bigger countries, most of them do get there (World Cup finals). But you look at Italy at this present time, they may not get there. They went out and won the Euro 2020 and they may not even get in the World Cup. For me it adds up backlog, it adds stress on the players."

The former Man City defender then added: "Don’t forget, players are coming from all over the world. Different countries, different leagues, different formats, I just think it adds more stress on them (the players). Then (in case of a World Cup every two years) the players have to travel more with the national sides. So that means more exhaustion. Then they have to go play in their regular leagues and then they’re playing the Champions League and their own domestic competitions whether they’re from South America or Europe. And for me, it’s (A World Cup every two years) is geared up for the lesser teams for them to maybe try and get in there. But from a fan, I think it’s a prestigious tournament and it should be every four years."

FIFA world cup every 2 years: FIFA going after money

Phelan then said that FIFA are most likely going after money and that the younger generation wanted a FIFA World Cup every 2 years to watch the best players in the world, to which he countered that all the best players already play in the Champions League every year so there is no real need for a FIFA world cup every 2 years.

Phelan told Republic World: "They’re (FIFA) saying every two years because supporters want it, younger supporters want it, they want to see the best players play every two years because they might not see them in the Champions League. But you know, now you’re seeing the best players play in the Champions League. You see the best players in world football playing in the Champions League so for me they should keep it the same. If it’s not broken, why fix it."

"I do believe it’s maybe about money. It’s not too much about the players' welfare and you’ve got to think about that. Cause there’s a lot of stress and strains in your own domestic league as well as another competition on top of maybe the Copa America, the Euros. Players are going to be playing a lot of games. We do know that the players get paid sums of money to play but we’ve got to think of their health you know." said former Man City defender Terry Phelan.