Arsène Wenger, FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development since 2019, has suggested holding the football World Cup and Euro Cup every other year, instead of every four years as has been the case so far.
In an interview published on Sunday by the German newspaper Bild, the former Arsenal manager and former French national team coach also suggested scrapping the UEFA Nations League to make football more attractive.
“We need to have as few events as possible,” he said. “One World Cup and one Euro Cup every other year would probably be more appropriate for a modern world.”
In such a scenario, Wenger explained, all qualifying matches would be played in just one month, since that would make it easier to sell them to broadcasters and sponsors.
FIFA has already been discussing the idea. “Personally, I think it would be a great step forward,” Wenger commented, rejecting suggestions that the image of big events would suffer if they were to be held more often.
“I always tell people who say this that the image is not linked to the time you wait before playing again, but rather the quality of the competition,” he said. “After all, people also watch the Champions League every year.”
FIFA and UEFA disagree on the new ideas regarding continental competitions, with Wenger criticizing the UEFA Nations League, whose second edition is underway this weekend.
“We need to get rid of the Nations League and find clearer events that everyone understands,” he argued. “If you ask people in the street what the Nations League is, you won’t find many able to explain it.”
The Brussels Times
