Fans oppose FIFA’s plans for two-year World Cup cycle

Supporter organisations around the globe have come together to sign a statement condemning FIFA’s plans for a two-year world cup cycle.

FIFA’s plans for a two-year World Cup cycle, alternating between the men’s and women’s game each summer, recently emerged and their chief of global football development Arsène Wenger claimed “it’s what fans want.”

But last night, supporter organisations condemned the plans in a joint statement.

“The overwhelming majority of fans oppose a biennial World Cup cycle – and if FIFA had bothered to engage with us on the subject, they would have known this to be the case,” they said.

“Such a move threatens to destroy the already fragile balance between local, domestic, continental, and international competitions and calendars. In particular, it will devalue and endanger the established competitions run by the various confederations – competitions that are just as important to match-going fans as the World Cup itself.”

The international calendar is now set all the way up to the 2026 World Cup, so no change could take place until 2028 at the earliest, the same year the European Championship would be held. So realistically, a new biennial World Cup cycle is unlikely to be introduced until 2030 and the soonest this could feasibly be voted on is at the 2022 FIFA Congress.

The supporter groups, however, are calling FIFA and supportive national football associations to abandon their proposals to impose a biennial World Cup and include fans’ voices in any decisions that affect the future of the game.

“We do not want or need more World Cups,” they said.

“We enjoy the World Cup precisely because it is an extraordinary event. Most of us do not have the time, money, or ability to travel to the other side of the world every 24 months to watch our teams play in a much-diminished competition and half empty stadia.”

The signatories to the statement, including the FSA, are as follows:

• Tifozat Kuq e Zi (Albania)
• Football Supporters Australia (Australia)
• Aussie Supporteroos (Australia)
• Club 1895 (Belgium)
• Belgian Supporters (Belgium)
• Conseil National des Supporters du Bénin (Bénin)
• ANATORG – Associação Nacional de Torcidas Organizadas (Brazil)
• Voyageurs (Canada)
• Association des Supporters des Équipes Nationales du Tchad – ASENT (Chad)
• La Marea Roja (Chile)
• Association nationale des supporteurs des leopards (Congo)
• Croatian Fans’ Embassy (Croatia)
• Fanklub Fotbalove Reprezentace (Czech Republic)
• Danske Fodbold Fans – DFF (Denmark)
• Danish Fans’ Embassy (Denmark)
• Football Supporters Association – FSA (England)
• Pride in Football (England)
• 3 Lions Pride (England)
• Football Supporters Europe (Europe)
• Suomen Maajoukkueen Kannattajat – SMKJ (Finland)
• Irresistibles Francais (France)
• Association Nationale des Supporters (France)
• Unsere Kurve e.V. (Germany)
• Bündnis Aktiver Fußball Fans – BAFF e.V. (Germany)
• German Fans’ Embassy (Germany)
• Comité national des supporters de Guinée (Guinea)
• Tolfan (Iceland)
• Women’s Footie ID (Indonesia)
• Open Stadiums (Iran)
• Italian Fans’ Embassy (Italy)
• Dardanët (Kosovo)
• M-Block Fanatics 95 Lëtzebuerg (Luxembourg)
• Union Nationale des Associations de Supporters des Aigles du Mali – UNASAM (Mali)
• South End Core (Malta)
• Supporters de la Mauritanie (Mauritania)
• Supporterscollectief Nederland (The Netherlands)
• Flying Kiwis (New Zealand)
• Supporters du Niger (Niger)
• Amalgamation of Official Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs (Northern Ireland)
• Norsk Supporterallianse (Norway)
• Associação Portuguesa de Defesa do Adepto – APDA (Portugal)
• Portugese Fans Embassy (Portugal)
• Irish Football Supporters Partnership – IFSP (Republic of Ireland)
• Fans’ Embassy Russia (Russia)
• Association of Tartan Army Clubs (Scotland)
• Supporters Direct Scotland (Scotland)
• Federación de Accionistas y Socios del Fútbol Español – FASFE (Spain)
• Spanish Fans’ Embassy (Spain)
• Camp Sweden (Sweden)
• Fanarbeit Schweiz (Switzerland)
• Groupe Des Surpporters Des Togo – Maman Togo (Togo)
• Taraf-Der (Turkey)
• Ukrainian Fans’ Embassy (Ukraine)
• Independent Supporters Council (USA/Canada)
• Barra 76 (USA)
• Sammers (USA)
• FSA Cymru – Wales Fans’ Embassy (Wales)
• Rainbow Wall (Wales)