According to journalist Riath Al-Samarrai of the Daily Mail, FIFA's decision to hold the 2030 World Cup in six countries is like a punishment for both players and fans.
"It says something about the enduring madness of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his associates, more than Jurgen Klopp's second-rate idea of replaying Liverpool and Tottenham," Al-Samarrai commented after FIFA announced plans to hold the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Portugal and Spain, but with the opening three matches being played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the tournament's centenary.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
According to Al-Samarrai, FIFA has disregarded the interests of fans and players. A round-trip trip from Europe or North Africa to Buenos Aires, Argentina, can take 12,000 miles (19,312 km), costing a lot of money and ruining the atmosphere that is built in a country hosting a World Cup.
"It is a strange decision that goes against logic, and therefore it begs the question why? Given FIFA's dirty reputation, which has been established through so many scandals, one can speculate on their reasons," Al-Samarrai said, referring to the world football governing body's mercenary nature.
When he announced plans for the 2030 World Cup yesterday, Infantino said that in a divided world, FIFA and football were united. However, Al-Samarrai was skeptical of this statement. In fact, FIFA is looking for ways to increase tournaments to make more money.
After increasing the number of teams participating in the 2026 World Cup to 48, at the end of 2022 FIFA announced a change in the format of the Club World Cup, increasing the number of participating teams from seven to 32, similar to the World Cup for national teams. Accordingly, the 32 clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup, applied from 2025, will be divided into eight groups of four teams each, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout round.
Jamie Carragher has criticised FIFA for coming up with another "ridiculous" idea, following the proposal to hold the World Cup every two years. He wants European clubs to boycott the new tournament. "Players need a break. They are being treated like cattle. FIFA hates the Champions League and wants something similar," the former Liverpool defender added.
Since the beginning of the season, top Premier League coaches such as Mikel Arteta, Erik ten Hag, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have continuously complained about the tight match schedule at both club and national team levels, causing many players to be injured.
In it, Guardiola stressed that the only way to stop this is for the players to "rebel" and demand their rights. "Any idea to reduce the number of matches for the players would be great," Guardiola said. "But nothing will change. There is only one solution, if the players decide for themselves. To stop the federations, you have to change something. After such statements, maybe FIFA and UEFA will react. Without Guardiola, the game will continue. But without the players, it cannot."
Hong Duy
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