A new year always presents an opportunity to have a better look at some of the things you may have not thought much about in the past.
In 2022, surely one of those is the proposal by Fifa president Gianni Infantino and former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to hold the Fifa World Cup every two years.
There have been so many questions for and unfortunately so many vague answers by those favouring this move.
But the scariest part is that the African continent, led by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Patrice Motsepe and his executive, have wasted no time in endorsing this move.
It seems everything proposed by Fifa will be supported by Africa because Motsepe’s elevation to the pinnacle of African football was blessed by none other than Infantino.
One of the reasons for Caf to jump at this opportunity is the belief that it will improve the quality of the players and infrastructure in Africa. There are also hopes that the continent may get more opportunities to host the global showpiece than if the status quo remains.
Generating more money through television and other sponsors seems to be the biggest motivation for Infantino and his gang, which is the why they must be stopped in their tracks.
But how many countries other than SA, the only one to host the World Cup in 2010, along with Morocco and Egypt, could actually be capable of hosting the event on the continent?
The next World Cup after Qatar later this year will have 48 countries competing instead of the current 32. Now you tell me if there’s one African country, including SA, capable of handling an event of that magnitude?
But the critical matter to look at is the already overloaded Fifa calendar and the strain a biennial World Cup will put on players — a key point Fifa has yet to raise with regards to its proposal.
There are domestic competitions, continental competitions and intercontinental club competitions currently putting players under a lot of pressure. And on top of this you want add a World Cup every two years, when even a money-spinning competition such as the European Championship is played every four years precisely because there’s not enough space.
Caf for instance has the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) as its top competition every two years, the idea being to speed up the process of improving the infrastructure in countries such as Cameroon where the current Afcon is taking place.
But on top of that, in 2009, Caf introduced a ridiculous competition called the African Nations Championship (Chan), which caters for players playing their football in domestic leagues. Meanwhile, every Caf region, including Cosafa in the south, has a regional competition played every year.
Add to that the two interclub competitions, the Caf Champions League and the less heralded Confederation Cup.
If you count all these competitions, why were Caf the first to welcome Infantino’s proposal. Were they driven by money or something else?
It doesn’t look as if there’s been much thought and discussion around this, as no one at Caf has said what they’ll do with their own competitions to open up space for a biennial World Cup.
Wenger points out that many players miss on an opportunity to play in a World Cup because it’s staged every four years and they’ll have a better chance to make an appearance if it’s changed to every two years. It’s a vague argument because you’ll only play in a World Cup if your country is good enough to qualify. It is as simple as that.
This proposal seems to have nothing to do with players or improving the infrastructure in Africa. If Fifa or anyone wants to improve Africa, what’s stopping them now?
Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane recently urged Uefa to help improve football facilities in Africa with all the resources and money that it has. We need more voices like Mosimane, not more work and pressure for the players.
Generating more money through television and other sponsors seems to be the biggest motivation for Infantino and his gang, which is why they must be stopped in their tracks — the same way Infantino ganged up with Uefa bosses to stop top European clubs from forming a Super League last year.
Infantino can’t even wait to see how a World Cup staged with 48 teams in 2026 will be like in terms of quality compared to the current format, before putting this new proposal on the table.
The value and prestige of a World Cup staged every four years looks more solid than the one Fifa is proposing. You have to crave for these prestigious tournaments for them to have more meaning, atmosphere and quality.
The one staged every two years may put a lot of money in the pockets of a few individuals but I doubt if everyone will pay attention as much as we do to the current one.
Players too may be less motivated and more fatigued to perform at their best when they know that they may get another opportunity to play in this event in the not too distant future.
Europe and South America must start talking to Africa and Asia about changing their stance in supporting a format that doesn’t appear feasible and not in the best interests of the players.
Organisations representing the players must also come to the fore and fight for them. They’re not robots and deserve a bit of a break if we are to expect the best from them.
There’s no better time than this for the players to use their power, because if they don’t endorse this Fifa proposal, everything will collapse the same way the European Super League did.
Let’s find more ways to lessen the burden on the players, instead of leaving them out of discussions that centre on giving them more work and less time to rest.
Cutting most of the nonsensical competitions in Africa and elsewhere in the world should be Infantino’s top priority.
Quality and not quantity should be what Fifa is all about, because that will guarantee bigger pay days.
