The President of FIFA, Infantino, left some quite controversial statements yesterday. From the highest soccer body, the idea of holding the World Cup every two years has been proposed for some time, something that Infantino justified by comparing it to the Super Bowl, the American football championship that is held annually.
Infantino left us almost without wanting to, the image that he has of sport and what he wants for football, that it be a show, more than a sport. The Super Bowl is a global event that draws attention both for its sports competition and for its spectacular nature, but is that what we want for football? Perhaps for club competitions, yes, but national team tournaments must maintain that spirit closer to that transmitted by the Olympic Games, sober, since the World Cup does not need more devices to hook, in itself it is wonderful and catches everyone equally.
The World Cup is a tournament of teams, in which countries face each other. It has nothing to do with the Super Bowl, and it cannot become commonplace because it would lose the magic. Players prepare for the World Cup because they know that in many cases they will only have one chance to play it. That makes everyone give their best to win it, so if it is played more often, that would be lost.
In addition, we must not turn football into a competition between countries, since what has made this sport great is the competitions between clubs, something that is increasingly distancing itself from the fans. If we tighten the calendar more so that the players play more World Cups, the competitive rhythm will be lost, as we are seeing right now. FIFA has to stop interfering so much in club competitions, or interest will be lost, or worse, there may be scares with the health of footballers due to the load of matches.