UEFA’s Ceferin says biennial World Cup would ‘dilute’ tournament

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says he has grave concerns about FIFA’s plans to stage World Cups every two years and is astonished by the lack of consultation by Gianni Infantino’s governing body. (AP)

• Arsenal’s ex-boss Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s director of development, Saturday called for football's showpiece competition to become a biennial event
• UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said holding it every two years will unfortunately dilute the World Cup

LAUSANNE: UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin on Monday said that holding the World Cup every two years, as Arsene Wenger has recently suggested, would “dilute” the tournament.
Former Arsenal boss Wenger, who is now director of development at FIFA, on Saturday called for football’s showpiece competition to become a biennial event.
The World Cup has been held every four years, besides cancelations during World War II, since the inaugural edition in 1930.
“We think that the jewel of the World Cup has value precisely because of its rarity,” Ceferin said at a general assembly of the European Club Association.
“But holding it every two years, will by our opinion, lead to more randomization, less legitimacy, and it will unfortunately dilute the World Cup itself.
“The international match calendar does not need that. Our players don’t need to see more of their summers spent on consuming tournaments rather than devoted to relaxing and recuperation.”
UEFA has long been against a more frequent World Cup and earlier this year announced a revamped version of its Nations League tournament, with 100 more matches per season.
Former United States coach Jill Ellis said Sunday she “is open to everything” when asked about the Women’s World Cup potentially being held every two years.