Football survey: majority for World Cup every four years

75 percent of professional footballers want the World Cup to continue in a four-year rhythm.

This is characterized by a survey among more than 1000 players, which initiated the international player union FIFPRO in cooperation with national player unions. In the survey, players from six continents were interviewed with more than 70 different nationalities.

There are differences in the regional breakdown. Thus, 77 percent of the players from Europe and Asia advocate a World Cup every four years, 63 percent are in players from North, Central and South America. Only 49 percent of the players in Africa prefer maintaining the current regulation, the remaining 51 percent distributed to a two- or three-year cycle.

Thus, there is a need to further develop and strengthen national team competitions, especially in smaller and medium-sized markets, it was said in the FIFPro announcement of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, only 21 percent of respondents believe that their voice is respected and their well-being in the context of international football governance is adequately taken into account. "Therefore, this survey underlines the need for more collective bargaining in our industry, especially at international level," said FIFPRO Secretary-General Jonas Baer-Hoffmann.