KUALA LUMPUR - The proposal by the International Football Federation (FIFA) to stage the World Cup for men and women biennially can have a major impact on the global football industry, according to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin believed that its implementation can also widen the opportunities for member countries to qualify to play in the world’s most prestigious football tournament.
"The FIFA proposal offers benefits to member countries by widening opportunities to be the World Cup host, apart from reducing travel time for players and thus ensuring sufficient rest period for players between seasons,” he said in a post on the FAM Facebook today.
Hamidin said this after attending the ‘Future of Football’ Summit virtually with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and representatives from 211 other member nations last night.
He said that at the summit, in principle FIFA invited its member countries to discuss the proposal of a biennial World Cup and to reform the International Calendar after 2024. This has the potential to make it easier for players to be released by their clubs for international duty.
The summit was part of FIFA's plan to get feedback from all stakeholders on efforts to give a new dimension to international match schedules and create uniformity for men and women’s football, including for youth.
FIFA Global Football Development head Arsene Wenger and the special adviser for Women’s Football Development, Jill Ellis, presented their proposals and analyses, including two proposals on FIFA youth competitions, with a standard approach for men’s and women’s U-17, U-16 and U-18 tournaments to be held yearly.
The four-hour meeting also provided the concept for global women’s football competitions and proposed implementation of a youth competition, which received FAM’s support.
"The summit gave us a better, transparent and accurate understanding of the approach to FIFA - Future of Football, especially in the implementation of the World Cup for men and women biennially in the mission to enhance the quality of football throughout the world.
"Future of Football has an important role in the stable development and growth of football in all corners of the world,” he added. - Bernama, October 1, 2021
