The International Football Federation (FIFA) has received a proposal to consider the feasibility of holding a World Cup every two years.

Now the main tournament for the national teams takes place every four years, as well as a number of continental championships.

The idea that the World Cup could be held more often was voiced by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. Its representatives believe that it is necessary to analyze the possible consequences of holding men's and women's tournaments every two years. The corresponding item was included in the agenda of the 71st FIFA Congress, which will be held online on May 21.

So far, this event should be taken only as an invitation to a discussion on a very controversial issue for world football. The 211 members of the organization will have to decide at the FIFA Congress whether or not to raise this topic at all. If the proposal of Saudi Arabia is supported, then FIFA will have the opportunity to study the problem in more detail and determine whether it is advisable to hold the World Cup more often than it has taken place throughout its history. If a positive conclusion is given, then only then will FIFA finally decide whether it is worth changing the existing regulations or not.

Since its inception, the FIFA World Cup has been played every four years in even non-leap years. This formula was chosen so that the competition did not overlap with the Summer Olympics, which at the beginning of the 20th century could only be played by amateurs, while FIFA wanted to grant the right to participate in the World Championships to all interested footballers. The first world championship was held in 1930, and since then the order of the tournaments has not been violated, except for the cancellation of two world championships due to the Second World War.

The four-year cycle of the world championships at one time influenced the organization of continental championships.

Tournaments in Europe, Asia and Oceania also take place every four years.

Africa and North America hold championships every two years on odd years.

In South America, there has been no clear periodicity in recent years.

The proposal to hold the world championship was first heard for the first time back in 1999.

The then FIFA President Joseph Blatter said that the old format had exhausted itself.

Continental championships, in his opinion, could be held in odd years and serve as qualifying tournaments for the world championship.

“I want the FIFA World Cup to take place every two years.

Then the teams will be ranked in the positions they deserve.

The current four-year format is outdated.

It was adopted in the 1930s, when teams were dragged from one continent to another on ships, ”The Guardian quoted Blatter as saying.

No concrete steps have been taken to implement this idea.

After Blatter retired, talk of holding the World Cup more frequently began again.

In 2018, Alejandro Dominguez, President of the South American Football Confederation, spoke about this.

He proposed this as an alternative to the idea of ​​expanding the European League of Nations - it was proposed to include teams from South America in the draw.

Then Dominguez noted that the new format will meet the interests of the players - they will have more chances to play on the world stage.

A similar argument was made by the former head coach of London Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, who is now the head of FIFA's department for global development of football.

He argued that the World and European Championships should be held every two years, since otherwise the players have little chance of playing in competitions more than a couple of times due to their age.

Wenger also noted that these tournaments will be more interesting for fans, and not the League of Nations that has existed since 2018.

Since Gianni Infantino became FIFA President, the World Cup has already undergone major changes.

In 2026, the tournament will be held in Canada, the USA and Mexico, and 48 teams will take part in it instead of 32. The competition will include 80 matches, not 64. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be the last to be held in the adopted back in 1998- m format.

Former president of the Russian Football Union, Vyacheslav Koloskov, believes that the proposal of the Saudi federation will inevitably face a number of problems.

He noted that it will be difficult for footballers to play often in qualifying tournaments, and the World Cup itself will face a shortage of organizers.

“A whole range of questions arises. First, what about the international calendar? He's already overwhelmed. A huge number of matches are played in national competitions, European competitions, national team tournaments. Football players play about 70 games per season. Add to this the qualifying matches for the World Cup, and it will probably be too much. Secondly, there are already an insane number of teams at the World Cup. Where can I find a country that organizes such a world championship? After Qatar, it will be held in three countries at once. This is no longer a championship, but a festival. There should be one country in which there is uniform legislation, where the fans will be comfortable, "said Koloskov RT.

He also recalled that the world championship will compete with other sports competitions and may partially lose funding due to the change in frequency.

However, this idea should be to the liking of fans, so FIFA needs to carefully consider all the possible consequences.

“Thirdly, this is a question of finance.

Advertisers and TV companies will not be interested in such competitions, because the World Cup could interfere with other global projects such as the Olympic Games, Stanley Cup and NBA finals, in which international corporations are investing money.

From the viewer's point of view, this is a chic and classy proposition.

It is clear that everyone will vote for the World Cup to be held every two years.

But there are factors that will be discussed at the FIFA congress, so that later we can discuss specifically on each topic, ”added Koloskov.