October 28 – Conmebol’s 10 FIFA members have shot down once and for all any suggestion that they would favour a World Cup taking place every two years. The South Americans had already indicated their opposition to the idea but have now made that formal, saying they would not play in a biennial event.
“There are no reasons, benefits or justification for the change driven by FIFA” to hold the World Cup every two years instead of four, Conmebol said in a statement after its council met in Luque, Paraguay.
“The ten countries that make up Conmebol confirm that they will not participate in a World Cup organised every two years.”
Such an unequivocal statement represents another setback for FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s director of global development who has been promoting the concept from the outset.
FIFA is holding a global summit in December with Infantino still hoping to find consensus on plans to take the game forward though whether the summit will include staging the World Cup more frequently remains unclear.
UEFA, the World and European Leagues groups, and many sporting governing bodies including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are also against the plans.
The World Cup has been held every four years since 1930, except during World War Two, and Conmebol’s members include five-time winners Brazil and two-time winners Argentina.
Following Wednesday’s meeting, Conmebol said the World Cup proposal “turns its back on almost 100 years of world football tradition, ignoring the history of one of the most important sporting events on the planet”.
The current system, it added, “has proven to be a successful model” that “rewards effort, talent and planned work”.
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