World Leagues agm urges FIFA to forget about a biennial World Cup
LONDON: The annual meeting of the World Leagues Forum, which represents more than 40 professional leagues from all around the world, has urged FIFA to scrap its proposal for a biennial World Cup.
The statement followed a discussion on the world federation’s plans to reform the international match calendar.
It followed a similar expression of opposition earlier this week from the European Club Association.
Two studies (available on www.worldleaguesforum.com) conclude that the financial impact and sporting impact of FIFA’s proposals would be extremely detrimental for domestic leagues which could lose up to €8.5 bn per season.
Enrique Bonilla, WLF chair, said: “The WLF requests FIFA to unequivocally abandon its biennial World Cup proposal as it is unwanted by fans and would destroy value for football at every level. Moreover, no decision on the match calendar can be made without the agreement of the leagues, their member clubs and the players that provide the foundations for football.”
David Aganzo, president of players union FIFPRO, said: “New formats are threatening the fabric of our domestic industry and overwhelm a calendar that is already overcrowded and requires workload safeguards.
“The question here is not whether we need innovation or not, of course we do, but why all these plans came into existence without the required assessment and involvement of players and leagues in the first place.”
The World Leagues Forum also released its first ever Women’s Football Report, in recognition of the growth and potential of professional women’s football.
The project was conducted by former Australia international and ex-FIFA Council member Moya Dodd, who stated: “Football is creating opportunities for women to participate as professional players, coaches, referees, commentators or administrators. Professional leagues and their clubs are crucial to creating and sustaining these roles.”
The WLF renewed its Management Board for 2022 with Enrique Bonilla (Liga MX) as chair and with Don Garber (Major League Soccer) and Richard Masters (Premier League) as the two vice-chairs.
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