The former Arsenal coach is leading a consultation on changing the football calendar from 2024.
Arsene Wenger, who works as FIFA’s chief of global football development, has proposed a new plan for the international tournaments.
The proposal includes the planning for a major tournament every June, with the gap between World Cups reduced to two years.
UEFA, alongside a host of managers and players, have declared their opposition to the program. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin even went as far as to suggest some European nations might boycott the biennial World Cups.
Wenger backs hits out at critics!
In a new interview with the FIVE youtube channel, Wenger has once again backed his plans for the changes in the football calendar.
“What I’m quite surprised (by) in a society which is anti-discriminatory, if you ask someone in the street whether a women’s World Cup every two years is good, they say ‘yes, fantastic, it will develop the women’s game’.
“Why is it bad for men then? That shows that the reluctance is basically emotional. We have all grown up in that cycle of (a World Cup) every four years and we want to keep it as it is.“
in July, FIFA commissioned YouGov research to find different age groups’ responses to the plans.
“We see the split in our polls that the younger generations are in favour, the generation over 50 is against.” Wenger added.
“We don’t have to be scared. The modern guy who watches football is knowledgeable, he’s demanding, he tests the quality of what he watches.
“There is a demand for quality, people today are knowledgeable and informed. We have the responsibility to give them top quality.”
An online video conference will take place on December 20, featuring the 211 member associations of FIFA. The members will discuss the possibility of biennial World Cups, with Wenger hoping that it would result in a practical solution.
“I believe that we can come up with something that makes sense and something everyone can be happy (with). Trying to find the bridge between all these different positions, is our challenge, but it’s also our ambition.”
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