Gianni Infantino: World Cup every 2 years could mean African migrants 'don't need to die in the sea'

[Firebat]

Is it a good idea to hold the FIFA World Cup every 2 years?

UEFA will come out strongly next week against plans by FIFA to hold a World Cup finals every two years.

Currently the World Cup happens every 4 years, with the Euros happening halfway between each World Cup.

FIFA have hatched new plans to hold the most-watched sporting tournament in the world more frequently.

Would you be in favour of such a move? Or do you think the current system preserves the novelty of such a competition?

Please discuss below and vote above.

 

[Napa]

UEFA will come out strongly next week against plans by FIFA to hold a World Cup finals every two years.

Currently the World Cup happens every 4 years, with the Euros happening halfway between each World Cup.

FIFA have hatched new plans to hold the most-watched sporting tournament in the world more frequently.

Would you be in favour of such a move? Or do you think the current system preserves the novelty of such a competition?

Please discuss below and vote above.

It is a great idea. 4 years is too long to wait for the greatest sports tournament.

 

[WC-Passion]

It's very obviously a terrible idea that doesn't give any sort of care for the already packed schedule to appeal to casuals and make more money.

 

[PakLFC]

With the already heavy domestic schedule a WC after two years will belittle the tournament. Leave it as it is.

 

[PetroDollars]

you have the euros in the middle which makes up for it, and keeping it for 4 years keeps the value of it higher

 

[Justcrazy]

Make it every three years , it will be better.

 

[Giannis]

No absolutely not, it cheapens the value of the world cup and fans wouldn't be as excited to watch it if it's every 2 years, it would also ruin the history of the world cup as some teams could rack several world cups in a short span "breaking" previous records which would essentially render it meaningless.

 

[MenInG]

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has rejected the idea of holding the World Cup every two years, saying it would "dilute" the tournament.

Fifa is holding a feasibility study into a biennial men's and women's World Cup following a proposal from the Saudi Arabian football federation in May.

The consultation process is being led by former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

"The jewel of the World Cup had value precisely because of its rarity," said Ceferin.

Speaking in person in front of 160 club representatives at the General Assembly of the European Clubs' Association in Geneva, he added: "Holding it every two years will lead to more randomisation, less legitimacy and unfortunately, dilute the World Cup itself."

The men's World Cup has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 because of World War Two.

The women's tournament has also been every four years since it began in 1991.

Wenger, chief of global football development at Fifa, said in May that he wanted to see the World Cup and European Championship played every two years and have Fifa "kick all the rest out".

In his own video address, Infantino did not mention the World Cup. However, he said there needed to be a "fundamental" rethink around the international calendar with "no taboo topics".

"We should not take it as any sort of challenge and fight," he said of Wenger's consultation. "It is a way to make global football strong. We have to give to fans even more reason to enjoy our sport.

"The door of Fifa is open to any idea to any proposal."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58458621

 

[MenInG]

FIFA will reveal more details on Thursday about its plans to hold a World Cup finals every two years.

Some of the most famous former players and coaches in the game are meeting FIFA global head of football development Arsene Wenger in Qatar over the next two days to listen to his plans for the future of football.

166 of FIFA's 211 member associations voted to carry out a feasibility study into the proposals first put forward in March by the Saudi Arabia Football Federation. All 211 FIFA members are likely to vote on the proposals before the end of the year and if they are endorsed, the World Cup finals could be held every two years from the summer of 2028.

The World Cup is FIFA's main source of income and, unlike UEFA, it does not have lucrative competitions such as the Champions League to provide it with a steady stream of revenues all year every year.

Speaking to French newspaper L'Equipe last week, Wenger said there would not be more games under his plans and players would be guaranteed at least 25 rest days every summer. Players would also spend more time at their clubs because there would only be a maximum block of two qualifying match periods every year.

Staging the World Cup every two years will be a "strange concept" for a whole generation of football fans, Gareth Southgate has told Wenger.

England boss Southgate has met with Wenger to discuss plans for a biennial World Cup and is "open-minded" to the proposals.

"I actually met with Arsene a couple of weeks ago, he was meeting a few different coaches so I have a pretty good idea of the proposals," Southgate said.

"I think the whole calendar needs reviewing. My feedback would be - I don't know - that our generation is going to find a World Cup every two years a strange concept.

"But I also know that things like The Hundred in cricket have been an incredible success, so I'm open-minded about some of those things. But the calendar generally needs to be tidied up. We can't keep adding more things in.

"I agree generally with the concept of better quality matches. Fewer matches, better quality across the board, but there's lots of other things that need consideration and we can't just add more in at the moment."

Southgate refused to offer his own opinion on whether he believes the plans would be a success and would like the players themselves to have a say on proposals.

"We keep adding more competitions in and I'm intrigued to see what comes out to allow that space to happen because we can't keep adding onto the workload of the players," he added.

SKY

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

2 years is too early. Make it every three years.

 

[OMB]

Lets do a compromise between FIFA and UEFA.
Do it every 3 years

 

[MenInG]

The Premier League, EFL and SPFL have confirmed their opposition to Fifa's plan for a World Cup every two years.

They are members of the European League and World League forums, which have issued statements saying they "firmly and unanimously opposed" reducing the tournament gap from four to two years.

There is concern around an already congested calendar both domestically and internationally.

Fifa Congress agreed to a feasibility study into the calendar change in May.

That was after it was requested by the Saudi Arabian football federation.

"The leagues have firmly and unanimously opposed any proposals to organise the Fifa World Cup every two years," the European Leagues statement said.

"The leagues will work together with other stakeholders to prevent football governing bodies taking unilateral decisions that will harm domestic football, which is the foundation of our industry and of utmost importance for clubs, players and fans across Europe and the world.

"New competitions, revamped competitions or expanded competitions for club and national team football are not the solutions to the current problems of our game in an already congested calendar."

It follows a statement from the World Leagues Forum on Wednesday which said a World Cup every two years would "negatively disrupt the football economy and undermine players' welfare".

Fifa president Gianni Infantino revealed on Wednesday that he hoped a decision would be made by the world governing body's member associations by the end of the year.

 

[ElRaja]

lets be real here, the euros are virtually a light world cup anyway. there's only been like 1 non-European finalist in the last 4 finals anyway.

 

[sweep_shot]

Horrible idea.

They can have it every 3 years but definitely not 2.

 

[MenInG]

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA intensified its push for hosting the men’s World Cup every two years on Thursday by garnering support from soccer fans around the world to help combat resistance from Europe and South America.

The latest public relations tactic came in the form of an online survey commissioned by FIFA. The Associated Press does not routinely report the claims of opinion polls conducted over the internet.

FIFA claimed its findings from more than 15,000 respondents aged at least 18 identified in 23 countries showed “considerable differences between the so-called traditional markets and the developing football markets” and younger fans more enthusiastic than older ones.

A follow-up survey involving 100,000 people in more than 100 countries is now being done, FIFA said.

European soccer body UEFA and South American counterpart CONMEBOL oppose FIFA’s plan and have threatened to boycott additional World Cups. Europe and South America combine for 65 of the 211 FIFA members — fewer than the one-third total likely needed to block any proposal.

The governing bodies of the six continental soccer federations all stage their own championships, with Europe hosting its tournament every four years halfway between the World Cups. Adding an extra World Cup in every four-year cycle would likely cut into the European event’s revenue stream.

The women already have two major world tournaments in every four-year cycle because the top teams and best players compete at the Olympics as well as the Women’s World Cup.

FIFA’s latest survey follows one week after it hosted about 80 former international players, including several World Cup winners, for a two-day meeting in Qatar — the 2022 World Cup host country.

The players reported they all agreed it was a good idea to double the number of men’s World Cups in each four-year period.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes staging more tournaments would increase opportunities and enthusiasm in most of the 211 member countries, many of which never qualify to play at the World Cup.

Expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 48 starting at the 2026 tournament in North America was one of the biggest early decisions of Infantino’s presidency, which began in 2016. FIFA also wants to distribute extra World Cup revenue to improve talent development and help national teams globally close the gap on Europe.

European teams have won the past four World Cups and filled 13 of the 16 semifinal slots. The other three semifinalists from 2006-18 were from South America.

The UEFA-backed Football Supporters Europe group also opposed the biennial World Cup plan, claiming it would distort the balance between domestic and international soccer, and club and national teams.

Global players’ union FIFPRO has also warned of burnout in the increasingly congested soccer schedule.

AP

 

[Firebat]

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry slams former boss Wenger’s plan for World Cup every two years as ‘mentally exhausting’

France World Cup winner Thierry Henry believes doubling the frequency of the tournament would be mentally exhausting for players and questioned why FIFA seems to rely on the views of retired stars rather than active ones.

The plans for biennial World Cups are being advanced by Henry’s former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, in his current role as FIFA’s head of global football development.

Henry was critical of the proposal Wednesday while on CBS alongside former Denmark and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who went to Qatar for FIFA meetings earlier this month and appeared on a virtual news conference with Wenger to make the case for World Cups every two years.

Henry said he struggled with the pressure of playing in a World Cup even every four years. The FIFA showpiece has been a quadrennial tournament since 1930, apart from during the longer gap due to World War II.

“Do you (FIFA) actually ask the current players what they think about it?” Henry said. “I played four World Cups and (three) Euros and I came out of them shattered mentally. And it’s not about the games I played in it, it’s the preparation for the World Cup, coming back from the World Cup after a season at your club. So if you play that every two years, mentally it’s tough for a player.”

Alongside 1998 world champion Henry in the CBS studio for UEFA Champions League coverage, former England and Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher interjected as Schmeichel tried to make FIFA’s case.

Carragher said he was on a call recently about the plans with Wenger, former Liverpool teammate Javier Mascherano and former Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure. Carragher was then not named by FIFA among what it called a “group of top footballers ... part of the ongoing consultation process on the future of global football.” But listed were supporters of Wenger’s plans: Mascherano, who played at four World Cups with Argentina, and Toure, who qualified three times with Ivory Coast.

“Maybe I haven’t been invited to the next one because I’m not as fully involved in it as you (Schmeichel) and pro the World Cup (every two years),” Carragher said. “My big problem is — why are we trying to get ex-players to support it? We aren’t going to play in it. Ask the players who will play in it now.”

The only players on the FIFA news conference earlier this month with Wenger backed biennial World Cups.

“Ask (Italy’s Marco) Verratti. Ask (Italy’s Giorgio) Chiellini. Ask (France World Cup winner Kylian) Mbappé. Ask (Egypt’s) Mo Salah,” Carragher said. “They are the ones you need to get on board ... not former players. Not (2002 Brazil World Cup winner) Ronaldo. Not Peter Schmeichel.”

Wenger has said he is consulting international players’ union FIFPRO.

https://apnews.com/article/soccer-e...-middle-east-f610da2b0afc86ccde06381990f64c3a

 

[MenInG]

Staging a men's World Cup every two years would be "profoundly detrimental" and "fundamentally alter the course and development of the women's game", says a joint statement from Uefa and 10 of Europe's women's leagues.

Co-signed by England's Women's Super League, the statement lays out possible negative impacts of Fifa's plans.

It says "careful reflection" is needed after a "very selective consultation".

The leagues are calling for an "open forum" to discuss proposals.

They say they have a "progressive mindset" towards the game's development but add that care is required, given the "women's football ecosystem is growing at pace but has not fully matured".

In September men's leagues confirmed their opposition to Fifa's plans, which would mean the women's World Cup taking place in the same summer as a major men's tournament.

Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is leading a group looking at the men's game, while ex-United States coach Jill Ellis is overseeing an advisory group working on proposals for the women's game

Fifa's plan may also result in a clash between World Cups and the Olympic Games - a significant event in the women's calendar.

The joint statement lists 13 possible consequences of reducing the time between World Cups, including:

Reducing the visibility and growth of women's competitions because of congestion in the men's calendar
Placing strain on resources for women's national team players as they are focused on men's competitions
Greater risk of physical injury and mental health impacts because of "more concentrated matches"
Interrupting professionalisation and investment due to "a saturation of markets", meaning women's football may not be financially viable
Reducing opportunities for developing nations, who may not have the resources to compete so regularly
As well as England's WSL and Women's Championship, the statement was signed by Uefa, the European Club Association, and leagues in Denmark, Germany, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/58794784

 

[Firebat]

Kylian Mbappe & Robert Lewandowski voice concerns over a biennial World Cup

France striker Kylian Mbappe and Poland forward Robert Lewandowski have voiced concerns over holding a World Cup every two years.

Fifa has proposed a biennial World Cup rather than holding it every four years as part of a revamped calendar.

The governing body told delegates at a summit that a biennial World Cup would generate more than £3.3bn in additional revenue over a four-year cycle.

"The World Cup is the World Cup," said Paris St-Germain forward Mbappe.

"It's a special thing because it's something [held] every four years."

Uefa, Europe's major leagues and South American football's governing body Conmebol have opposed the plans.

Caf, the African governing body, has given its backing.

"[It is] the best thing, the best competition in the world," added 23-year-old Mbappe, who helped France win the 2018 World Cup.

"If you hold it every two years, it can start to be normal to play [in the] World Cup. I want to say that's not normal. That [should be] something amazing.

"We play over 60 games in a year. You have Euros, the World Cup, now the Nations League - so many competitions. We are happy to play but when it's too much, it's too much. We have to recover, we have to stay relaxed.

"If people want to see quality in the game, the emotion, to see what makes the beauty of football, I think we have to respect the health of players."

Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski echoed Mbappe's concerns over the demands on players if a World Cup was held on a biennial basis, with both speaking at the Globe Soccer Awards.

"We have so many games every year, so many tough weeks, not only the games but preparation for the season, preparation for the big tournaments," said the 33-year-old.

"If you want to offer something special, something different, we also need a break.

"If we have a World Cup every two years, the expectation is the time where footballers play at a high level will go down ... It is physically and mentally impossible."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59805894

 

[Last Monetarist]

Speechless.

https://news.sky.com/story/fifa-president-gianni-infantino-says-world-cup-every-two-years-could-mean-african-migrants-dont-need-to-die-in-the-sea-12525891

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said his plan to hold the World Cup every two years could stop African migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr Infantino made the comments at a session of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe - a transnational organisation focused on human rights.

The FIFA boss is one of the main backers of the Future of Football strategy, designed to promote greater inclusion of non-European teams, mainly through more regular tournaments.

He said on Wednesday: "This topic is not about whether we want a World Cup every two years, but about what do we want to do for the future of our football.

"I think about the rest of the world… and the vast majority of Europe, then we have to think about what football brings.

"Football is about opportunity, about hope, about the national teams.

"We cannot say to the rest of the world give us your money, but watch us on TV. We need to include them."

Speaking specifically about Africa, Mr Infantino added: "We need to find ways to include the whole world to give hope to Africans so that they don't need to cross the Mediterranean in order to find maybe a better life but, more probably, death in the sea.

"We need to give opportunities, to give dignity. Not by charity but by allowing the rest of the world to participate. Maybe the World Cup every two years is not the answer. We discuss it."

The comments have been heavily criticised as "completely unacceptable" by anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett.

He said: "It is completely unacceptable to suggest that a biennial World Cup, predominantly set up to drive further profits for FIFA, could be a solution for migrants who risk their lives, sometimes fleeing war-torn countries, to seek a better life."

UEFA president Alexsander Ceferin has also expressed "grave concerns" over the Future of Football project.

He claims it will undermine and clash with smaller regional tournaments such as the Africa Cup of Nations and the Copa America.

Critics have also argued it would leave players overworked and exhausted, while supporters say it will give smaller nations more chances to qualify to play at international level.

Other backers include ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now chief of global football development at FIFA, Saudi Arabia, and former footballers such as Michael Owen and Yaya Toure.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Bit of a stupid comment, Africa's problems wont be solved by a 2 year world cup. But it will help the poorer nations esp if they are able to host tournaments.

Im personally not fond of this move, it will take away the glamour of the world cup. Every two years with weak footballing teams isnt what the real football fans want, only the casuals and FIFA.

 

[James]

Typical car crash comments from a FIFA President. That organisation is clearly still a clown show even in the post Blatter era.

 

[James]

<b>Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett describes comments made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino referencing migrants drowning in the Mediterranean as "completely unacceptable"; Infantino later attempted to clarify his speech, saying he was "misinterpreted".</b>

FIFA president Gianni Infantino's comments about African migrants have been described as "completely unacceptable" by Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett.

Infantino controversially referenced migrants risking drowning in the Mediterranean during a speech to the Council of Europe on Wednesday, as he spoke about the global benefits of FIFA plans to reform the international calendar which include a proposal for biennial men's and women's World Cups.

He said: "We need to give hope to Africans so they don't need to cross the Mediterranean in order to find, maybe, a better life but more probably death in the sea.

"We need to give opportunities and we need to give dignity, not by giving charity but by allowing the rest of the world to participate."

Burnett condemned the comments and said in a statement issued to the PA news agency: "FIFA is a multi-billion profit-making organisation. They already have the funds to invest in creating and inspiring opportunity for disadvantaged people around the world.

"It is therefore completely unacceptable to suggest that a biennial World Cup, predominantly set up to drive further profits for FIFA, could be a solution for migrants who risk their lives, sometimes fleeing war-torn countries, to seek a better life."

He added: "If FIFA has a genuine commitment to tackling inequality, they should be investing time and resource into charitable causes on the ground, rather than disguising what appears to be a profit-making biennial World Cup as the answer to any existing problems."

Infantino later looked to clarify his comments, insisting his speech had been "misinterpreted".

"Given that certain remarks made by me before the Council of Europe earlier today appear to have been misinterpreted and taken out of context, I wish to clarify that, in my speech, my more general message was that everyone in a decision-making position has a responsibility to help improve the situation of people around the world," he said in a statement.

"If there are more opportunities available, including in Africa, but certainly not limited to that continent, this should allow people to take these opportunities in their own countries. This was a general comment, which was not directly related to the possibility of playing a FIFA World Cup every two years."

 

[DeadlyVenom]

This guy has managed to out-gaffe Sepp Blatter quite quickly.

 

[MenInG]

Typical car crash comments from a FIFA President. That organisation is clearly still a clown show even in the post Blatter era.

Not sure if he meant well but how can such people occupy positions of power is beyond me!

 

[MenInG]

The president of South America’s soccer confederation has reiterated that teams from the region would boycott FIFA’s plans for a biennial World Cup and said there is “no chance” that such a proposal will go through.

Alejandro Dominguez, the president of CONMEBOL, told The Associated Press on Thursday that it’s a “waste of time” for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to continue pushing his desire to stage a World Cup every two years.

“CONMEBOL will not play every two years and that is final. … It is a no go,’ there’s no chance,” Domínguez said in an interview.

“This (plan) was dead at birth, we have made it clear from day one.” Infantino has insisted that staging the World Cup every two years instead of every four years will allow more countries to qualify and create more interest and revenue. But Dominguez said South American and European teams, which have won every edition of the tournament since 1930, will not take part under that format.

“Without European and South American teams I have doubts that one can achieve these revenues they talk about,” Dominguez said.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has also publicly opposed FIFA’s plan, and their joint disapproval of the proposal seems to have brought the European and South American governing bodies closer together.

Ceferin visited CONMEBOL’s headquarters two weeks ago for a celebration for Dominguez’ sixth anniversary at the helm. But Dominguez insisted that they don’t have a personal beef with Infantino.

“It is just impossible to think that we can have a World Cup every two years.” “It would kill Copa America, and Copa America is a very important source of income for our associations. That would not be equivalent to a World Cup every two years,” he added.

Dominguez also said the controversial proposal for biennial World Cups will not affect Infantino’s chances to remain as FIFA president in the next elections.

“Today I don’t see any rival that is emerging or reemerging, someone that proposes something different to Infantino’s leadership,” the CONMEBOL president said.

The partnership between CONMEBOL and UEFA will include friendlies between South American and European teams before the World Cup in Qatar, Dominguez said.

Brazil and Argentina, who have already qualified for the tournament in Qatar, have long complained about the difficulty in scheduling matches against European rivals.

“Speaking about a Nations League between South America and Europe is very important. The Europeans also know they have to play against South Americans. Home and away,” the CONMEBOL president said.

Copa America winners Argentina and European champions Italy will face off in June. There’s also a proposal for continental runners-up Brazil and England to clash before Qatar.

https://indianexpress.com/article/s...ays-no-chance-of-biennial-world-cups-7745575/

 

[MenInG]

BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday vented their frustration over plans for a biennial soccer World Cup instead of the current four-year cycle, saying it would have a major negative impact on other sports.

On the first day of the IOC session before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Friday, IOC members called on Gianni Infantino, the president of world soccer’s governing body and who is also an IOC member, to drop his plans.

Infantino, who has cancelled his trip to China, has said changing the World Cup cycle from four years to two would generate an extra $4.4 billion in revenues for the world body.

FIFA said the additional funds would help reduce the gap in revenues between developed and less developed football markets.

But international sports federations as well as the IOC, which organises the Olympics -- Summer or Winter Games -- every two years, have opposed Infantino’s plans.

A biennial World Cup would clash with the Summer Olympics while also denting the Games’ commercial appeal. Currently the World Cup is held two years apart from the Summer Olympics.

The World Cup is the biggest international single sports event, commanding sponsorship and broadcasting deals far greater than any other international federation’s event. A tournament every two years would overshadow all other competitions.

“We would like to discuss together with the FIFA President and IOC member but this is not possible now against the expectation, because he cancelled his visit to Beijing the day before yesterday,” IOC chief Thomas Bach told the IOC session.

“We should not discuss now on a wider scale this issue in his absence in respect for our colleague and IOC member. If you agree we will try to make contact with him and will forward these comments which have been made.”

SHARP CRITICISM

Bach was responding to sharp criticism directed at FIFA by several IOC members, including National Olympic Committees of Africa President Mustapha Berraf.

“The plan (for a biennial World Cup) would create immeasurable damage and put sport in general in danger and in particular football,” Berraf said.

“It would simply push away other sports and relegate them to the back benches and that would be absolutely unacceptable.”

“It would also create a rift between women’s and men’s sport and be a setback to all our efforts to create equity and parity for all sports,” he said.

European soccer governing body UEFA and its South American counterpart CONMEBOL have also strongly opposed the idea.

Nenad Lalovic, an IOC Executive Board member and head of United World Wrestling, said there would be “widespread consequences” and that a consultation with FIFA was necessary.

“It (the plan) could impact the healthy development of sport and could put the sustainability of other international federations’ events at risk,” Lalovic said.

“The unilateral decision by FIFA on such an important matter ... will have widespread consequences not only on football but all sports globally. These consequences must not be underestimated.”

 

[MenInG]

Some Fifa politics now, with Reuters reporting that Germany’s decision not to back the president Gianni Infantino’s re-election next year was a result of the governing body’s handling of human rights issues in Qatar and its failure to take a stand on Iran, German Football Association (DFB) chief Bernd Neuendorf said on Friday.

Neuendorf said the DFB’s decision not to back Infantino, set to be re-elected for a third term in March, was because the German federation had been “irritated” by a number of issues related to the World Cup.

“We indeed took this decision [not to back Infantino]. It was not easy but at the end of the day that was the decision because we believe we have to make a statement,” Neuendorf told a news conference.

“Infantino already has the support of continental confederations and his re-election is very likely. But after his letter two weeks ago that human rights should not play a role and we should focus on football we were considerably irritated,” Neuendorf added.

“There were other things as well that irritated us with FIFA. The ban of the slogan for the Danish shirt because ‘human rights for all’ was written on it.”

Guardian

 

[MenInG]

FIFA President Gianni Infantino will serve another four-year term at the helm of world soccer’s governing body after emerging as the only candidate for the next election in March.

Infantino, who has received widespread backing from confederations and national associations, was the only name submitted by the Wednesday deadline, FIFA said on Thursday.

Infantino, 52, has campaigned hard over the last month, seeking individual endorsements from national associations, and significantly solidified his position.

He will be re-elected at the FIFA congress in Rwanda in March for a third term. Infantino won the FIFA presidency in 2016 on an initial three-year term, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected in 2019.

He thanked more than 200 members associations who FIFA said had offered him their backing for another term as President.

"I would like simply, because again it’s the first time I speak publicly today, to put on record my big thanks for the over 200 member associations of FIFA, all the six confederations who have supported me," Infantino said in a statement. "I feel humbled and honoured to be able to serve the global football community for the next four years." Infantino rose swiftly from his post as UEFA general secretary to one of the most powerful positions in world sport.

The Swiss official beat Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain in the final round of that 2016 election after Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and Frenchman Jerome Champagne had been eliminated. But he owed his candidacy to the fact that Europe’s preferred candidate, his former boss and UEFA president Michel Platini, was banned from football along with Blatter for ethics violations.

Both men denied wrongdoing and were acquitted of fraud charges by a Swiss court this year. Infantino was then re-elected unopposed, having won a second term at FIFA’s Paris Congress in 2019. Since taking over, he has overseen the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026. The tournament will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

REUTERS