“ I have seen the future and it works”... that is the sentiment emanating from FIFA and UEFA as they compete for space on the international stage over the next decade.
Ahead of committee-room battles to come, the ECA has demanded “a new model which reduces the current burden on players”. This is a joke. What the ECA really wants is less nationalteam football so as to create space for more continent club action.Whatever happens, there will be a new international calendar from 2024, once the game has battled through the complications thrown up by the November/December rescheduling of the 2022 World Cup finals.
The game has Michel Platini to thank for both Qatar’s hosting and the calendar shift. Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter has made no secret of how Platini changed his mind from voting for the USA after a luncheon with French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the Gulf state’s Emir-to-be.
This story is from the June 2018 edition of World Soccer.
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This story is from the June 2018 edition of World Soccer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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