According to two independent feasibility studies, the 211 FIFA member associations would benefit significantly financially if the women’s and men’s World Cups were to be held every two years.
The findings of Nielsen and OpenEconomics were presented today at the online FIFA World Summit, attended by 207 of the 210 voting FIFA member associations. The consultation process on the future of football and the international match calendars, which for men and women will last until 2023 and 2024 respectively, ended with the summit.
“According to independent experts, hosting the FIFA World Cup every two years from the first four-year cycle would generate additional revenues of USD 4.4 billion, which would flow back to our 211 member associations,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “With this additional income, the contributions to each individual FIFA member association could be increased from USD 6 million each to an average of up to USD 25 million from the first four-year period onwards, with the exact distribution being subject to FIFA governance provisions.”
The additional revenue (up to USD 25 million per member association) would, according to the feasibility studies, be used as follows:
• Creation of a solidarity fund with assets of USD 3.5 billion, which would benefit all member associations with contributions of up to USD 16 million on average as well as any financial losses of member associations due to the changes to the international match calendar
• Increase in FIFA Forward contributions to each member association by 50% to USD 9 million per cycle
“We want to reduce the gaps between FIFA’s member associations and offer as many more realistic opportunities as possible to play on the global stage,” added the FIFA President.
The Nielsen study, which examined the financial impact, also came to the conclusion that in the first four-year cycle, additional regional revenues of USD 6.6 billion would be possible if the confederations also hold their men’s finals every two years.
According to a study by OpenEconomics, which focused on the macroeconomic aspects, staging the FIFA World Cup ™ every two years over a period of 16 years would generate added value of more than USD 180 billion worldwide and create two million full-time positions.
“FIFA is committed to the future of football by offering every talent a chance and by creating the necessary framework for this through its competitions,” said Arsène Wenger, FIFA Director for Global Football Promotion. “We want to reorganize the international match calendar in order to promote and improve football, taking into account all stakeholders, starting with the players by introducing a mandatory rest period.”
For this purpose, the international match dates would be regrouped in the international match calendar so that the players would have to travel less. The number of home and away games would be determined after further discussions with the associations, whereby there should be fewer days for the clubs overall. At the summit, new models for the (joint) organization of FIFA youth tournaments were presented so that they can be held annually and every talent has a chance.
“We understood from the start that women’s football needs to be viewed from a different angle. It was a very enriching experience, ”said Jill Ellis. “Our suggestion for improving the international women’s football calendar also takes account of the health and protection of the players. Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup every two years is an important element in this, along with better funding measures. We must also ensure equality and equal opportunities in women’s football around the world. The growth potential is there. Thanks to innovations such as a new business program, we can also ensure that a global women’s club competition is introduced as part of the strategy for the future of women’s football. ”
FIFA plans to hold further consultations with the confederations and their member associations in early 2022 to further discuss the details of these studies. All documents relating to the feasibility studies will be published on FIFA channels in the coming days, along with supporting documents and videos.
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