FIFA chief calls for solidarity over plans to reform national team football

The sport’s elite must “show solidarity” to the wider global game over plans to reform national team football, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said.

Proposals put forward by FIFA’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger to reform the men’s international calendar – including the introduction of biennial World Cups – have been heavily criticised in Europe.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said European nations could boycott the tournament if the proposals are accepted, while the European Club Association and the European Leagues group are also opposed to the plans.

Infantino and Wenger hope the new calendar from 2024 will create more meaningful national team football globally and bridge the financial gap between Europe and the rest of the world.

Switching to World Cups every two years would increase revenues by 4.4 billion US dollars (£3.3bn) across a four-year cycle, delegates from 207 national associations were told at a global summit organised by FIFA earlier this month.

Infantino said in a new year message published on Thursday: “FIFA is the only governing body that looks after and cares about the entire world.

“We will continue working hard to live up to the mission of not forgetting the ones who need most and who have no voice, while also protecting the healthy growth of everyone else and the global football movement.

“The new FIFA is a democratic body and together with our stakeholders, we will design the path for football’s future, making the game fit for purpose in the modern era and ensuring that we can boost global competitiveness.”

Infantino said after the summit he believed a majority of national associations would already be in favour of biennial World Cups if the idea was put to a vote, but said it was important that the entire shape of the calendar be looked at rather than just one element of it in isolation.

“We count on the vast majority who are looking forward to new exciting opportunities to dream, to develop the game, to feel truly part of the global football community,” Infantino added in Thursday’s message.

“And we count also on those at the top to show solidarity – without which, even football at its most elite would not exist.

“We thank them for their valuable contribution to the popularity of the game and we count on their support, respect and strategic vision as we strive to successfully conclude the discussions around reform of the international match calendar.

“We will work together for unity and the ultimate benefit of everyone.”