The FIFA World Cup every two years has caused a true tsunami in European football. Strong opposition from UEFA has resulted in a threat of boycott by some of their associations, especially the Nordic ones, and a feud between Ceferin and Infantino that shakes the foundations.
The message from the UEFA president to that of FIFA could not have been more direct at the meeting where the plan was presented to them. “That can have terrible consequences for football,” Reuters reported that he told him in a conversation that it was supposedly on tape.
In any case, at that same meeting, FIFA also wanted to hear the proposals, not just the laments, of the 55 European federations. One of them, the most striking and impressive, came from the CEO of the Portuguese federation, Tiago Craveiro. According to the FPF, a better idea than holding the World Cup every two years would be to hold a second World Cup, a B, among the teams that had not qualified for A.
“Do you keep your word that FIFA would go ahead with this? Isn’t this a harmless project?” He asked Infantino, according to the conversation mentioned above. The president of FIFA told him that this idea would be analyzed. “We need to try to find common ground. We are not going to go ahead with any proposal if someone is harmed. I welcome the idea of Tiago, it is something that the technicians will study and that we must look at, “he commented.
This Wednesday the FIFA Council is expected to decide whether to put to a vote among its 211 members the change of calendar and Arsene Wenger’s proposal to play the World Cup every two years. Two-thirds of the federations should approve any decision made in the Extraordinary Assembly, which could be held on December 20. UEFA does not want to reach this point of being able to find itself between a rock and a hard place.