FIFA President wants World Cup staged every three years

FIFA president Gianni Infantino wants to hold the World Cup every three years as part of a long-term plan to revolutionise international football.

The commercial and sporting success of the tournament in Qatar has emboldened Infantino, who gave an indication of his grand ambitions last week by announcing that an expanded Club World Cup will take place in 2025 despite failing to secure the backing of players, clubs and international confederations, Daily Mail reports.

Infantino is convinced that staging the World Cup in the middle of a European winter over the past month has proved to be a game-changer, which shows that the sport can continue to grow and be globalised.

Despite fears of player burnout and mass injuries in Qatar, the football has provided a compelling spectacle, with the tournament generating record revenues of £6.2billion — an increase of £840million on the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Infantino’s long-term ambition is to institute a radical new tournament cycle, in which the World Cup takes place every three years, with the Club World Cup and continental competitions such as the European Championship being held in the other years.

No change is possible until after the 2030 World Cup, as talks between stakeholders over the 2024 to 2030 international calendar are close to being concluded, although discussions over the subject have begun behind the scenes.

Infantino has given himself time to implement his revolution as he made clear last week that he intends to serve three full terms as FIFA president, which would keep him in office until 2031.

The 52-year-old will face a major battle to get a new three-year cycle approved however, despite support for the concept from Africa and Asia.

UEFA and the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, combined to defeat a proposal to stage the World Cup every two years that had been championed by Arsene Wenger and are likely to be opposed to FIFA’s latest innovation.