By Sam Simons, Harry Blunt-Bigwood and Aaron Elliott.
FIFA’s proposal for a biennial World Cup, spearheaded by Arsene Wenger, has been critiqued by many, and now Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has aligned himself against his former manager.
The football world was sent into uproar in recent weeks, with many disagreeing with the proposal to host a World Cup every two years in the aim of reducing the number of international friendlies, whilst increasing the inclusivity of international football for smaller nations.
We asked University of Brighton students what they thought about the idea.
Ollie Sorriento, 18, studying business management, said: “I disagree with the idea that a football world cup will happen every two years, I think, the four-year gap gives teams enough time to works on their players and maybe some of the smaller teams time to develop people.
“I think it’s a tradition that should be carried on and that a gap longer than two years should carry on.”
Harvey Wallace, 18, studying business management, said: “I do not agree with the World Cup being played every two years because it would affect the players’ physical wellbeing. With more games being played in the future it could lead to more injuries.
“Also, on the mental side, they could face more problems, particularly as they will not have enough time to spend with their families which could affect them more as they get older.”
Ben Walker, 20, studying building surveying, said: “It’s a bad decision. If you’re forcing the players to play throughout a summer break, they are going to be shattered for the actual league season, so the quality of football will go down.
“Injuries will be happening more. With the game being allowed to flow more now, with tackles flying in, it will just be a bad decision.
“Managers will complain.”
