FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has been planning to make the World Cup a biennial event for some time now.
UEFA and the domestic leagues have already expressed concerns about those plans. Now there is also opposition from other sports. The IOC is pushing for wider consultations on FIFA’s World Cup project.
“We are concerned,” the IOC said. “Organizing the World Cup every two years would conflict with other major international events from sports such as tennis, cycling, golf, gymnastics, swimming, athletics and Formula 1.”
“That would undermine the diversity and development of sports other than football.”
“Not only the other sports but also women’s football would be the victims of the new format,” says the IOC. “The increase in the number of men’s events on the sports calendar would also pose a challenge to the further promotion of women’s football.”
They are also concerned about cycling. UCI boss David Lappartient stated that the Tour crowd is systematically declining during a World Cup summer.
“We are concerned about the consequences for the cycling world and our flagship, the Tour de France,” said UCI boss David Lappartient.
“Every four years we see a small drop in audience when the World Cup starts,” said the UCI president. “The big football event attracts a lot of investors because of its size and that has consequences for other sports anyway.”
It is becoming more and more a dispute between FIFA and the rest. Will the world football association stand firm, or will it bend under the pressure of opponents?
