World Cup every two years? Explaining FIFA’s biennial proposal and what comes next

Since the first FIFA men’s World Cup nearly 100 years ago, the planet’s biggest sporting event has been scheduled every four years. That tradition could be set to change if the vision of current FIFA president Gianni Infantino comes to pass: He’s pushing to hold the men’s World Cup every two years.

The proposal has ignited significant debate around the globe, with fans and continental governing bodies taking sides.

It’s an idea that is believed to be supported by 166 of the 210 member associations of FIFA, according to an ESPN report from early September. And Infantino recently said that he believed the majority of associations would vote in favor of it though no vote has been scheduled.

MORE: Which teams have qualified to the 2022 World Cup?

But some of the high-profile opponents include European governing body UEFA, which through its president Aleksander Ceferin, has stated publicly on multiple occasions that it will not concede to the new calendar without a fight.

Here are the latest updates on where things stand and what it could mean for the sport if the plan is approved or rejected.

World Cup every two years: Latest updates 

FIFA released a comprehensive report to its member associations on Dec. 20 that detailed the benefits of the proposal, including the estimate that a revamped international calendar with a World Cup every two years would generate $4.4 billion in additional revenue per four-year cycle. With the additional income, the split among the member associations would see an average of $16 million in additional revenue shared with each member association.

In addition, the FIFA report cited a commissioned independent study which estimated that the plan would increase GDP by $180 billion and see more than two million jobs created per four-year cycle.

MORE: Explaining mistakes in Champions League re-draw

UEFA, which opposes the plan, released its own statement claiming European member associations could actually stand to lose over $2-3 billion per four-year cycle due to lost sponsorships and media revenue. FIFA countered this claim by stating it would set up a $3.5 billion “solidarity fund” to make up any differences that associations experience as a result of the changes.

Another UEFA counter to the two-year plan: Fears that the women’s game could see a dip in revenue due to a lack of exposure and interest given the spotlight that the men’s World Cup would command. But there’s a FIFA advisory group that’s also studying the feasability of expanding the women’s World Cup to a two-year cycle.

What is FIFA’s World Cup proposal?

Quite simply, the FIFA proposal is a plan to hold the World Cup every two years. The proposal was initially floated by Saudi Arabia in May, and has gained significant steam since. It’s a plan spearheaded by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who now serves as FIFA’s head of Global Football Development.

As it stands, the World Cup is held every four years, as it has since 1930, with the only interruptions to that steady cycle coming in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. It’s on a different four-year cycle compared to the summer Olympics and the continental championships for national teams (Euros, South America’s Copa America and the Asian Cup). If the World Cup plan passes, those continental championships would be sandwiched in during odd years. 

At this point it’s unclear how FIFA would plan to alter the qualifying processes for both the World Cup and the continental championships to ensure the calendar does not become untenable. FIFA has already ratified and implemented a plan to expand the World Cup from 36 teams in its current structure to 48 teams, with the first expanded World Cup coming in 2026.

The sense is that this biennial World Cup proposal would allow FIFA to develop more regular touchpoints with fans by hosting major international events every single year that capture the world’s attention and dominate the news cycle. This would ensure FIFA remains relevant during what would have formerly been off years, and keep the brand in the public eye for sponsorship and revenue purposes.

What are the positive & negative impacts of the proposal?

FIFA’s latest proposal lays out all the benefits the organization believes will come from the two-year World Cup cycle.

Most of the detailed benefits revolve around increased revenue or increased visibility of the game. FIFA also touched on an increase in GDP as a result of the added events, which doesn’t come as a surprise, as FIFA often touts its shared benefits to national and international economies when searching for World Cup host countries.

The most obvious and concerning negative impact of the proposal is the continued feeding of a bloated match schedule. Players and managers have openly complained about an already crowded fixture calendar, with both club and international committments seeing the top players stretched thin.

For example, across the 2020-21 season, Manchester United playmaker Bruno Fernandes played in a total of 72 matches for his English club and Portugal, accumulating over 5,500 minutes played. Another example is Barcelona youngster Pedri, who was the talk on social media for his regular deployment across competitions for club and country. His 19-year-old legs racked up 62 appearances and a whopping 4,368 minutes.

These figures would only increase with additional World Cup tournaments and associated qualifiers, adding matches to the calendar and potentially hurting other competitions which would be forced to take a back seat to the World Cup. 

The risk of injury increases with the added workload and travel, which is not appealing for the clubs that pay the players’ salaries and could be forced to rest them in key matches due to the commitments. Clubs that cannot afford deep rosters to replace their stars would feel the impact of injury or forced rest in a bigger way.

The conversation among fans revolves around the potential dilution of the event’s significance. With the competition held every two years, would it feel less important and less special, eroding the meaning of the tournament and the value of a victory? Some have pointed to the UEFA Champions League which is held every year, but has only gained in prestige.

Who supports and opposes the new plan?

Although a group called Football Supporters Europe has come out against the plan, FIFA claims that the majority of fans are in favor of the new proposal. It shared the results of a survey that revealed overwhelming support for the plan.

Among the national associations that will ultimately vote on it, there is support from the members of the African governing body CAF, which has gone public to state its support for the new plan, voting to ratify the proposal at its General Assembly in late November.

“If the FIFA study concludes it is feasible, CAF will fully support hosting the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup every two years,” the CAF resolution read. The African confederation is a powerful force given the sheer number of member nations (54) in its ranks, meaning full CAF support can often sway any vote that FIFA holds.

MORE: How the FIFA World Cup playoffs work

The Asian confederation (46 member nations) has not yet committed one way or the other, but the sense is that its membership is generally in favor, with a number of countries already openly declaring support for the plan. The initial proposal also came from a country based in the Asian confederation (Saudi Arabia).

The North American confederation (CONCACAF), which also represents Central America and the Caribbean and is comprised of 35 national associations, is also open to the proposal. CONCACAF’s president has also recently floated other potential variations to the biennial World Cup plan. 

Many of the 135 countries in Asia, Africa and the CONCACAF and Oceania regions have never qualified for a World Cup and are likely not to qualify any time in the near future. The thinking is that they can be swayed by the promise of increased revenue, prioritizing balance sheets over other concerns.

MORE: How Cristiano Ronaldo could miss out on his final World Cup

Formally against the proposal are heavyweights UEFA (Europe, 55 nations) and CONMEBOL (South America, 10 nations), which are a powerful duo that represent the vast majority of teams that make up the top tier of the FIFA rankings. UEFA president Ceferin has been entrenched in his position against the plan, while CONMEBOL also released a harshly worded and defiant statement in late October. Both have threatened to boycott a biennial World Cup.

“There are no reasons, benefits or justification for the change promoted by FIFA,” read the CONMEBOL message. “In view of this, the 10 countries that make up CONMEBOL confirm that they will not participate in a World Cup organised every two years. The project in question 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 two confederations recently joined forces commercially and competitively with the opening of a joint office in London and the planned participation of South American teams in UEFA’s Nations League tournament.

The next FIFA Congress is set for March 2022 in Doha, Qatar, but there are no plans for a vote to be held on the topic at that time. But it will need to happen soon with the current FIFA international match calendar only running through 2023 (women) and 2024 (men).