FIFA President raises controversy over a statement about the “World Cup every two years” and Africa

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has argued controversially today that changing the football calendar could reduce the likelihood of Africans migrating to Europe and risking death in the Mediterranean.

And the British news agency (PA Media) reported that the President of the International Federation of the Game spoke at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the French city of Strasbourg, about support for FIFA's reforms to the calendar, which includes plans to hold the World Cup every two years.

The controversy was raised over the link between immigration and the new World Cup project.

Infantino said the proposals are very vital in order to give hope to the football world outside Europe, adding: "We need to give hope to Africans so that they do not need to cross the Mediterranean, perhaps in search of a better life, but what is more likely to be death at sea."

"We need to give opportunity and dignity, not by giving charitable benefits but by allowing the rest of the world to participate," he added.

Infantino criticized European behavior amid the debate over whether the World Cup should be held every two years instead of every four years.

The FIFA president added: "We see that football is developing in the direction that there are some who own everything, while the majority own nothing."

He continued, "In Europe, the World Cup is held twice a week, because the best players in the world play in Europe."

Even within Europe, significant disparities are noted, with a handful of elite leagues attracting the majority of the best players, while the majority of clubs do not participate in continental competitions.

The issue of changing the course of the World Cup is a subject of great controversy, as it is opposed by the powerful sports federations in Europe and South America.

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