FIFA and The World Cup: The Future of Football

Should FIFA host its biggest event—the FIFA World Cup—every two years instead of every four, as it has been doing since the event’s inception in the 1930s? In September 2021, Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), addresses representatives of the 211 national associations that are members of football’s highest-level governing body, from a conference room in FIFA’s headquarters in Switzerland. The members have convened to discuss proposed reforms spearheaded by former coach Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s Chief Football Officer, who is seated next to Infantino. News of the planned reforms already have sent shockwaves through the world of football. For instance, the president of football’s European confederation, UEFA, has referred to a biennial World Cup as a “killer” and vowed to boycott the idea. The president of the Spanish league, one of football’s top three domestic leagues, has dismissed the plans as “a threat not just to domestic football leagues but to the overall tradition of world football.” Are the proposed reforms—all part of a ‘Future of Football’ project designed to reshape the sport—the right bet for FIFA? And if so, what can the governing body do to guide the process along the right path?