Martinez against World Cup every two years
Roberto Martinez has voiced his opposition to FIFA’s plans to revamp the World Cup schedule.
The Belgium boss, who will lead the country in Qatar in 2022, is against the proposal to hold the tournament every two years. FIFA president Gianni Infantino and chief of global football development Arsene Wenger have been pushing to change the calendar.
The governing body hosted a summit last week and told its 211 member associations £3.3billion in additional revenue would be generated from holding a biennial World Cup.
France forward Kylian Mbappe and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski have raised their concerns and Martinez has now added his, and Belgium’s, fears.
“In my view, and the view of the (Belgian football) federation, we are not in favour,” he said. “But we totally agree we need to find solutions and find what’s best to allow players to be at their best when representing their clubs and national teams. A World Cup every two years will break the tradition. We all know players who have played in five World Cups and how special it is to be part of a World Cup. I don’t think we’ re going to start seeingplayers who are involved in nine or 10 World Cups having the same feeling.
“It’s an exceptional moment in a player’s career and it should carry on with the glamourand the history it has at the moment. In Europe wear every fortunate because the European Championship is very strong, the Nations League is a really good tournament. There are other ways to find solutions at international level.
“Football in modern times needs to adjust to the demands of domestic and international football.”