German, Portuguese soccer federations oppose FIFA's plan to hold biennial World Cup

On Friday, September 17, the German and Portuguese soccer federations slammed FIFA's concept of holding a men's World Cup every two years. Both the federations argued that the move would put players at risk of frequent injury and also put women's competitions in jeopardy, according to The Associated Press (AP). FIFA said on Thursday, September 16, that fans want the World Cup to be held more frequently. As part of FIFA's evaluation of the international match calendar, Arsene Wenger, the current Chief of Global Football Development, firmly supports the concept of staging a bilineal World Cup. Meanwhile, UEFA and CONMEBOL, the European and South American soccer governing bodies, are opposed to the notion and have threatened to boycott extra tournaments. 

The German federation's board of directors, known as the DFB, claimed that FIFA had bypassed its own ruling council by presenting the plans to a group of former players first and that significant changes could not be made without the permission of European associations and European soccer. Germany was equally concerned about women's issues. It should be noted here that in order to avoid clashes with important men's events, the women's World Cup is now contested in odd-numbered years. A two-year World Cup cycle could result in continental championships clashing with the women's tournament. The DFB claims that if a men's World Cup or European Championship is held every summer, women's and junior events will be marginalised in the shadow of the men's competitions. 

Portuguese federation cites ten reasons opposing the plans

The DFB further stated that players would be subjected to additional "physical and mental strain," as well as a "substantially increased risk of injury" as a result of the new competition schedule. In a statement made jointly with other soccer organisations, including the Portuguese league and the local players' union, the Portuguese federation expressed similar worries. They cited ten reasons for opposing the plans, including the effect on players' mental and physical health, the overlap of men's and women's championships, the influence on youth competitions, and the "obvious saturation" of the television and commercial rights market. However, FIFA has stated that it will try to lessen the pressure on players by reducing non-tournament national team games. The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition which is held after a gap of every four years. The marquee tournament is being held since 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held owing to the Second World War. 

(With AP inputs)

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