World Cup could be held every TWO years after Fifa vote to back controversial plans

THE prospect of the World Cup coming every TWO years took a huge step forward after Fifa voted to back the idea.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino is a supporter of the concept, which is bitterly opposed by European chiefs.

But a proposal to establish a feasibility study into the idea of holding both the men’s and women’s World Cups on a two-year cycle passed by a substantial margin at the virtual Congress of the 211 member associations.

Saudi Arabia’s proposal was supported by 166 nations, with only 22 opposed and 21 abstaining – Pakistan and Chad are currently suspended by Fifa.

Only the Saudis, backed by Morocco, spoke about the motion, although a smiling Infantino promised: “This will be looked at by the Fifa administration and all stakeholders.”

But Infantino also signaled he will use the study to look at significant changes to the number of international matches played in qualifying campaigns.

Infantino, in his earlier address to the world game, said: “We face challenges and questions about how many matches can a player play per year.

“Do we want more games or less, but more meaningful, games?

WIN £50,000! Play Dream Team Euros – our FREE fantasy football game this summer 

GET £40 IN FREE BETS ON HORSE RACING THIS WEEKEND

“The International Match Calendar is global and has to take into account the variety of situations around the world.

“Our starting point is not that the calendar is full and nothing can change. Instead we have a blank sheet of paper and we are open to take on board all views and opinions about how to make it better.

“We cannot just look at the final tournament in isolation. We have to look at qualifying competitions as well.”

⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk