The debate for the World Cup every two years, a plan promoted by Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s director of development, has generated a lot of noise and in South America they do not agree at all about it. In a statement published this Friday, Conmebol expresses its disagreement with the idea of having a World Cup every two years.
After what was the date of the South American Qualifiers, the confederation has decided to comment on this idea that has already generated some rejections in the world of football, despite the fact that FIFA assures that it has the support of more than 160 federations.
Conmebol completely rejects the holding of the World Cup every two years and has set out in the statement the arguments why it considers it “highly unviable.” The first has to do with the “denaturalization” of the competition itself, lowering the quality and the demand that the maximum tournament represents at the national level.
The second argument has to do with the adjusted calendar for the World Cup where it is stated that it would be “practically impossible” to manage the overload of matches. In this sense, FIFA has already stated that it will promote an adjustment to the calendar, where there is talk of playing only one month of qualifying dates.
And finally, Conmebol affirms that the World Cup is a competition in which “appropriate preparation” is needed, where those selected must develop “their qualities” and the technicians design and apply strategies, which is why it is committed to the current time. out of every four years between the World Cup and the World Cup.
Thus, the highest South American body manifests itself against FIFA’s idea of holding the World Cup every four years, despite the fact that it had initially given its endorsement, according to the statement. However, they have backtracked and call for a “broad and participatory process of consultations with all the stakeholders involved.”
Conmebol statement
Faced with the project of holding the World Cup every two years, CONMEBOL, after a round of consultations with South American football leaders, considers it appropriate to express its position regarding this initiative based on the following fundamentals:
-A World Cup every two years could distort the most important football competition on the planet, lowering its quality and undermining its exclusive character and its current demanding standards. The World Cup is an event that attracts the attention and expectations of billions of people because it represents the culmination of a process of elimination that lasts the entire four-year period and has its own dynamics and appeal.
-A World Cup every two years would represent an overload that is practically impossible to manage in the international competition calendar. Under the conditions in force today, it is already complex to harmonize times, schedules, logistics, adequate preparation of equipment and commitments. The situation would be extremely difficult with the proposed change. It could even put the quality of other tournaments, both club and national, at risk.
-The idea of the World Cup is to bring together the most talented footballers, the most outstanding coaches and the most trained referees to determine in a fair and fair competition which is the best team on the planet. This cannot be achieved without proper preparation, without teams developing their skills and technicians designing and implementing strategies. All of this translates into time, training sessions, planning, games. CONMEBOL defends the search for excellence in the field of play and is committed to increasingly competitive events of the highest quality. There is no sporting justification for shortening the period between World Cups.
-For the approval of a change of this nature, a broad and participatory process of consultations with all the stakeholders involved is essential. It must be the fruit of a frank debate, in which all opinions and criteria are considered. CONMEBOL is and will always be open to dialogue that seeks the best for football.
Although at some point CONMEBOL supported the project in question, technical analyzes showed that it is highly unviable. Therefore, under current conditions, it ratifies its support for the current World Cup model, with its terms and classification mechanisms, considering it consistent with the spirit that animated those who conceived and founded this competition.