Arsene Wenger: Former Arsenal boss says 99 per cent of football people want changes to international calendar
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ByEurosport
Published 09/11/2021 at 16:30 GMT
Arsene Wenger is the chief of global football development at FIFA and is leading proposals for a new international men's calendar from 2024 which would include staging a World Cup every two years. UEFA, European Leagues and the European Club Association are opposed to the proposals but Wenger believes there is an appetite for less international matches and a summer tournament every year.
Arsene Wenger
Image credit: Getty Images
Arsene Wenger says "99 per cent” of football people he has spoken to would welcome a revamp of the international celendar.
The former Arsenal manager is spearheading controversial reforms to the football calendar by proposing biennial World Cups rather than every four years, and to have less international breaks.
The 72-year-old believes as it stands those under the age of 50 want it, while those over do not, and that no one should be scared of change.
“Out of 100 football people we consulted, 99 per cent want changes,” Wenger said at 'The Future of Football' event run by Rio Ferdinand's FIVE podcast.
“We see the results in our polls that the younger generations are in favour (of hosting a World Cup every two years), the generation over 50 is against. There is a split in the way people see the evolution.
“This year is a good example: we had the Euros - a fantastic tournament in England - then we had the Nations League in Italy (which was) well-attended again.
“Next year it's the World Cup, everybody is looking forward to it.
"We see the split in our polls that the younger generations are in favour, the generation over 50 is against. No one has said we don't want the World Cup because we had the Euros this year. We don't have to be scared.”
Wenger believes there would be climate change benefits to his proposals, with players and coaches flying around the world 50 per cent less by condensing the qualifying format.
He also argues a change to the qualification format would raise the quality of matches.
“I propose a clearer separation by playing two blocks of qualifiers,' the Frenchman added.
“Because what people want is quality.
“The modern guy watching football is knowledgeable, demanding, he sees the quality of what he watches. If he watches and it's not good enough, he moves away.
“There is a demand for quality in these generations because people today are knowledgable, informed and they know they have the quality of assessment and judgement.
“We have a responsibility to give them top quality.”
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