October 20, (THEWILL) – After receiving a detailed update on the ongoing consultation process on the topic, the FIFA council has endorsed the holding of a global summit via videoconference on Monday, December 20, 2021, to discuss the future of football.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, speaking after the latest FIFA council meeting, said: “We need to think about how we develop the football of the future and to ensure our sport is meaningful, exciting and robust for future generations across the entire world.
“This is not necessarily the case today, and as the international match calendars are not decided beyond 2023 and 2024 for women’s and men’s football respectively, this is a crucial moment to ensure the further development of our sport across all 211 FIFA member associations. As mandated by the recent FIFA Congress, FIFA is considering all opinions in an inclusive and thorough consultation process.”
“As world football’s governing body, it is FIFA’s responsibility to stimulate such a debate, and I am encouraged by the healthy exchanges that have been made to date from all sides.
“Everyone should have their voice heard, and precisely through the consultation process, I have discovered that many stakeholders have never had the opportunity to discuss this topic properly. This consultation process is addressing that, and we will continue with the objective of reaching a consensus with solutions that work for everyone’s benefit.
“By hosting a global summit later this year, we will now have the opportunity to present one plan and to provide feedback to all our FIFA member associations.”
FIFA has begun a comprehensive consultation process with all stakeholders following the request by FIFA’s member associations at the 71st FIFA Congress in May 2021 for a feasibility study to examine the impact of holding the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup every two years instead of four.
This process has centred on resolving issues with the international match calendars for both women’s and men’s football, presenting proposals for global youth tournaments, and ensuring that all proposals support player health and well-being.
The FIFA council’s decision will now serve as a springboard for FIFA’s 211 member associations to discuss the proposals further in the coming weeks, with the goal of reaching an agreement on the structures of club and national team competition windows within the international match calendars for women’s and men’s football.
As THEWILL previously reported, the council also named the United Arab Emirates to host the seven-team FIFA Club World Cup 2021 in early 2022, with more details to be announced later.
The FIFA council also approved three amendments to the current international match calendar for women’s football (2020-2023):
(1) FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ play-off tournament: 13-23 February 2023 (exclusively for the teams involved in this tournament)
(2) International window: 10-18 July 2023
(3) FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: 20 July-20 August 2023
The 72nd FIFA Congress will take place in Doha, Qatar, on Thursday, March 31, 2022, in conjunction with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final draw, as confirmed by the council.
The FIFA president also informed the council of his desire to be closer to the FIFA World Cup and, as a result, to divide his time between Zurich, Doha, and other locations around the world in order to fulfil his presidential duties.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
