Sport

Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski raise concerns over biennial FIFA World Cup proposals

Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski concerned over player welfare amid what could become a more congested football calendar; at a FIFA summit last week with 211 world football associations, it was revealed £3.3billion would be generated from holding a World Cup every two years

The future of the World Cup remains a topic producing extreme views within football's world governing bodies
France forward Kylian Mbappe and Poland striker Robert Lewandowksi voice their concerns over holding a World Cup every two years

Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski have raised concerns over FIFA's proposal to hold a World Cup every two years, citing the physical strain the move could have on players taking part.

The idea, being backed by FIFA's president Gianni Infantino and chief of global football development Arsene Wenger, is proposing the change as part of a revamp of the football calendar.

At a summit last week, world football's governing body told representatives from its 211 member associations £3.3billion in additional revenue would be generated from holding a biennial World Cup.

Max stake varies. See bet slip for details.
Odds subject to fluctuation. Further T&Cs apply. 18+

But the concept has been met by fierce resistance particularly from UEFA and South American governing body CONMEBOL, who feel the alteration would devalue the competition.

Gianni Infantino: Biennial World Cup opponents are scared
Road to Qatar 2022: State of play across the world
FIFA, UEFA continue to clash on biennial World Cup
Speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Mbappe, who scored four goals to help his country win the tournament in Russia three-and-a-half years ago, said the proposal could undermine the prestige of the competition and place further pressure on players.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (L) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino (R) - earlier this week UEFA also criticised FIFA over
a lack of consultation

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (L) is strongly opposed to the biennial World Cup being backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino (R)
Mbappe said: "My opinion is that the World Cup is the World Cup, it's a special thing because it is every four years. If you have it every two years, it can start to be normal and I want to say that is not normal.

"It is something amazing, maybe you play [in a World Cup] one time in your life. I agree with Robert when we talk about performance, we already play 60 games in the year, you have the Euros, you have the World Cup, we now have the Nations League, so many competitions.

SOURCE : skysports

site_map