FIFA President Gianni Infantino is on a “tour” of South America, where he will promote the idea of holding the FIFA World Cup every two years.
“It is FIFA’s duty to ensure that football embraces the whole world, is truly global. For that to happen, we need to see how we can improve the football of national teams, and there is nothing that compares to the World Cup, ”he said in Caracas, Venezuela.
“All countries that are members of FIFA have the right to dream, but countries cannot dream forever, they have to believe that it is possible. To put it bluntly: what are the real opportunities for Venezuela to participate in the World Cup? “, – he challenged, as the country has never been so, failed to pass the difficult South American qualification – at the moment it is the last of 10 countries. , and they pass at once 4.
The more regular organization of the world championships, as well as the increase from 2026 (USA, Mexico and Canada) from 32 to 48 teams, gives, according to Infantino, more conditions for dreams.
“Changing the calendar is possible. There are many benefits because we enable more countries to participate. When it was decided a hundred years ago that the World Championships would be held every 4 years, FIFA had 40 members. It’s time to assess this issue, everyone will benefit, ”he said, meaning that a decision should be made at the end of this year.
Infantino also acknowledged the changes in the format of the qualifications so that South Americans, for example, do not have to make that many trips: “We know that trips, time differences and climate changes affect the health of players. If Messi has to travel 350,000 kilometers to qualify and Cristiano Ronaldo 50,000 kilometers … It’s okay that South Americans get a little more tired than Europeans. ”
The FIFA president refused to make the World Cup trivial because it takes place more often. “The prestige of the competition does not depend on its frequency, otherwise it would be held only once every 40 years. It depends on the quality of the test, ”he said.
