World Cup every two years: FIFA gives each federation $19 million
The International Football Association (FIFA) on Monday promised each of the 211 member associations of obtaining an additional 19 million euros to be paid over four years, if the project to hold the World Cup every two years instead of maintaining its current pace every four years.
And in the hypothetical “summit” that it is holding on Monday to relaunch its controversial reforms related to rescheduling the global calendar beyond 2024, the top football authority used economic arguments as its weapon in promoting the holding of the World Cup every two years without giving specific and accurate figures for the benefit of amending the formula The current adopted since the first version in 1930, which requires the establishment of the World Cup every four years.
And if the World Cup is decided to be held every two years, whether for men or women, which is also held every four years since its inception in 1991, the additional income resulting from this change in pace will reach 4.4 billion dollars over four years, according to a study conducted by the Nielsen office. Commissioned by FIFA.
Revenues from tickets, TV broadcast rights and sponsorship will rise from $7 billion, in a forecast also linked to raising the number of teams participating in the men's World Cup from 32 to 48 as of 2026, to 11.4 billion, according to this study, whose methodology was not disclosed.
By creating a new "solidarity fund" worth $3.5 billion over the first four years of the reform process, FIFA has seen it be able to allocate "about $16 million" to each member association during this period, according to Monday.
According to FIFA, there will be an increase in the current investment program called "Viva Forward", to raise the amount from 6 to 9 million dollars for each federation during the same four-year cycle.
These figures contradict the study commissioned by the European Union (UEFA), which opposes the World Cup project every two years, as it reached a conclusion that the implementation of this scheme will reduce the income of the European member federations by about 2.5 to 3 billion euros over four years.
For its part, the World Leagues Forum, which represents about 40 local professional leagues, estimated that local competitions could lose up to $8.5 billion in revenue each season if the World Cup was held every two years.
FIFA has not put forward any figures regarding the domestic leagues that are the basis of the football economy, simply asserting that “historical trajectories do not show any negative relationship between income generated by national team finals (for example, the World Cup) and domestic leagues.”
At the hypothetical "summit" on Monday, there will be no vote, but Swiss FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the goal was to reach a consensus.
The former Arsenal coach, French Arsene Wenger, who is the director of global football development at FIFA, was behind the launch of the idea of holding a major international tournament every year, alternating between the World Cup and continental tournaments such as the European Cup and Copa America.
But this proposed change does not have everyone's approval, and the European Union (UEFA) and South America (CONMEBOL) led the opposition, while the Confederation, which includes 54 members, backed this proposal after it announced last month its support for the "FIFA Congress' decision to conduct a feasibility study."
Given that the member associations have equal votes, it is likely that there will be sufficient support for the project to be put to a vote at the next FIFA Congress on March 31 in Doha.
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