The South American body want twice as many World Cups
Conmebol (South America’s equivalent of UEFA) have asked FIFA to stage the World Cup every two years, rather than every four, president Alejandro Domínguez confirmed on Friday.
Having seen the raging success of the UEFA Nations League, Domínguez is also keen to copy the tournament’s format with South American teams as well.
“The proposal we have made to Fifa is to play the World Cup every two years and not every four,” Domínguez said.
“Instead of having the Nations League in between we can just go ahead every two years and have a World Cup and that is for everyone.
“It’s for the players because they could play four World Cups if we move to a two-year cycle. If we stay with this format many players will not be able to play more than two.
“There are many solutions. We could hold the tournament in Europe, South America, North America, Africa and Asia without such a long wait. So we see an opportunity there and there is a proposal put forward to Fifa.”
Financial gain is of course one of Domínguez’s main reasons for his proposal.
“In terms of economics Fifa make money and give more money,” Domínguez said.
It’s not clear what consequences this would have on the current international calendar, but Domínguez insists he gets on well with both the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and the Uefa president, Aleksandar Ceferin.
The Nations League format, as it has done in Europe, could serve as a solution to Domínguez’s proposal – a compromise that ensures South American teams play even more competitive football.
Domínguez wants to prevent European teams from pulling further away from South American sides, both economically and technically, than they already have.
“I always say we have to work together and never say no, I always say why not,” he said.
