75% of professional footballers want the World Cup to be held every four yearsaccording to a survey of more than a thousand players organized by Fifpro (soccer players’ association) and national unions on the workload and competition formats published this Tuesday.
The details of the survey
The survey shows that only 21% of those surveyed believe that the voice of the players is respected and that their well-being is taken into account in the context of the governance of international football, while 81% consider the World Cup and their national league as their favorite competitions.
The survey was carried out last November only among male soccer professionals, after FIFA’s proposal for the World Cup to be played every two years instead of every fourand collected the opinions of players of more than 70 nationalities with the support of the unions of England (PFA), Spain (AFE), Italy (AIC) and France (UNFP).
Fifpro recalled that since Fifa presented its proposal as a union, it defended that “Any plan to change the match schedule had to have the agreement of the players” and “launched a process to seek your input as part of a broader consultation on player workload in men’s football.”
According to data made public this Tuesday, in Europe and Asia 77% of players prefer a World Cup every four years, a figure that in America stands at 63% and in Africa at 49%. The rest is divided between a cycle of two or three years. The sampling indicates that although a clear majority supports the current frequency of the World Cup, there is a demand, especially in the smaller and medium-sized markets, to further develop and strengthen national team competitions.
“This is in line with FIFPRO’s position to encourage investment in regional competitions, based on the needs of the local market”pointed out the international union, which is chaired by David Aganzo, president of the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE).
FIFPRO Secretary General Jonas Baer-Hoffmann highlighted that “The player survey shows that the majority of footballers around the world have a clear preference for playing in the World Cup every four years”.
“At the same time, the results demonstrate the importance of domestic league competitions for the players. These leagues are the foundation of our game and we need to do more to strengthen them, both for the sake of the players and for the overall stability of the game. professional soccer”Baer-Hoffmann concluded in a statement.
📊⚽ Three in every four professional men’s footballers want to keep the FIFA World Cup every four years, according to a survey of 1,000 players from six continents and over 70 different nationalities.
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) February 15, 2022
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