David Owen: The FIFA statutes and the battle over a biennial World Cup
October 19 – It is hard to think that the FIFA statutes will not at some point come into play in the ongoing manoeuvrings over a two-yearly World Cup.
FIFA
Forget the Olympics, Ellis champions biennial WWC as a self-sustaining opportunity
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – A biennial Women’s World Cup will help “shine a light” on the sport and help it “stand alone” in terms of visibility and investment but is not a foregone conclusion according to former US head coach Jill Ellis.
Infantino says World Cups every year would spread hosting and even-out wealth
October 19 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino is continuing to bang the drum for a biennial World Cup, this time promoting the idea at a news conference in Buenos Aires where, he claimed, the proposal would help spread funds more fairly and away from handful of super clubs.
FIFA summons men’s national team coaches to online meet to discuss biennial World Cup
October 18 – FIFA has increased the pace of its lobbying for a biennial World Cup announcing two online video conferences for men’s national team coaches this week to discuss the proposals for a potential new calendar that would start from 2024.
Poles go to FIFA accusing England of false racist accusations
October 18 – Poland and England have become embroiled in an unsavoury spat over racism allegations the Poles insist are totally unjustified.
IOC slams FIFA’s biennial plans as ‘undermining diversity’ and calls for wider consultation
By Paul Nicholson
October 18 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has formally noted the concerns of other sports and football’s own stakeholders and has called for a “wider consultation…which has obviously not taken place.”
Nordic nations say FIFA calendar plan would ‘cannibalise’ game and marginalise women
October 18 – With opposition to the biennial World Cup snowballing, the Nordic football associations confirmed they won’t support Zurich’s calendar revolution, arguing the proposal would “cannibalise” existing competitions.
FIFA vow to take EA Sports head-on in football e-gaming as licensing deal looks dead
By Paul Nicholson
October 18 – With EA Sports review of its FIFA license increasingly looking like bringing an end to its FIFA branded game at the end of the current rights cycle, FIFA has issued a statement saying that it will be widening its own gaming and eSports portfolio.
IFAB to discuss Conmebol proposal to expand halftime to 25 minutes
October 18 – The idea of increasing halftime breaks to 25 minutes to provide the kind of entertainment that exists in US sports will be discussed this month by the game’s lawmaking body, the International FA Board.
Panama and El Salvador sanctioned with closed stadia for fans’ homophobic chants against US
October 18 – FIFA has sanctioned both Panama and El Salvador for discriminatory chants by their fans during recent World Cup qualifiers. Both incidents incurred in games against the US.
Independent thought: Maldini and Lahm critical of Infantino/Wenger biennial plan
October 15 – When Arsene Wenger rolled out the bought and paid-for FIFA legends in Qatar to sycophantically support FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s unrelenting push for a biennial World Cup, he probably wasn’t expecting quite the backlash from football’s biggest stakeholders.
LFP break ranks with Le Graet and French federation and says ‘no’ to biennial World Cup
October 14 – The French league has voted to oppose FIFA’s plans to stage the World Cup every two years, slamming the proposal as “irreparably negative for the domestic leagues”.
Visionary Wenger gives insight on the next evolution of refereeing: No refs
October 14 – Arsene Wenger, Zurich’s ultimate salesman in his role as FIFA’s development director, believes automated, electronic offside calls can be introduced by the time of the World Cup finals in Qatar.
EA Sports deal with FIFPRO triggers new questions over FIFA gaming commitment
By Paul Nicholson
October 13 – EA Sports has renewed its licensing deal with players’ union FIFPRO in what is described as a “long term commitment”, but at the same time raises further doubts over EA’s ‘commitment’ to FIFA and use of its brand name.
Adidas are latest to put boot into FIFA’s biennial World Cup plan
October 13 – Criticism of FIFA’s proposal to stage a biennial World Cup continues to mount up, this time from an unexpected source: one of its own main sponsors.