UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin turned up the heat on FIFA over proposals to hold men's and women's World Cups every two years, saying European football's governing body have "grave concerns" about the Arsene Wenger-backed concept.
In a letter to Football Supporters Europe executive director Ronan Evain, who had urged UEFA to fight FIFA's plan, Ceferin addressed the impact of transforming the global tournaments and said fans' concerns were "extremely valid and important".
The men's World Cup has taken place every four years since its inaugural edition in 1930, aside from when the Second World War meant there was no tournament in 1942 or 1946, and the women's World Cup has also been a quadrennial event since 1991, when it was first staged by FIFA.
Former Arsenal boss Wenger has been campaigning for the change, in his role as FIFA's chief of global football development.
The FIFA congress in May saw a vote overwhelmingly go in favour of carrying out a feasibility study into the project, which was first proposed by Saudi Arabia.
However, Ceferin said in his letter, quoted in widespread reports on Friday: "UEFA and its national associations ... have serious reservations and grave concerns surrounding reports of FIFA's plans."
The UEFA chief said there was "widespread astonishment that FIFA appears to be launching a PR campaign", before the detail of any such dramatic change to the calendar has been revealed to key stakeholders. He said confederations, such as UEFA, along with national associations and leagues had not yet been fully put in the picture.
Ceferin added: "As one concrete example amongst so many, it is imperative to highlight the concerns shared across the footballing world regarding the impact a biennial FIFA World Cup would have on the international match calendar and, prominently in this context, on women's football."
That worry presumably centres on the diminished exposure the women's game might receive if its major events, such as the European Championship, clash with major men's tournaments.
Wenger has spoken in favour of the World Cup shift on several occasions, saying in July: "More knockout matches, fewer qualifying games. That's what the fans want.
"Think of it this way: 2026 the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada; 2027 a European Championship and the other continental tournaments; 2028 another World Cup; and so on."
You can tell everybody we have won the FA Cup – Man City players meet Elton John
Manchester City were greeted by singer Elton John as they touched down at Manchester Airport on their return from winning the FA Cup at Wembley.
The club posted videos of the squad posing for pictures with the 76-year-old on the tarmac as they disembarked from their plane late on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola said in advance of the final, which City won 2-1 against Manchester United to secure the second leg of a possible treble, that he had attended John’s concert in the city last week as he sought to take his mind off a defining period in the club’s history.
The club’s Twitter feed headed one of the videos “you can tell everybody we have won the FA Cup”, a reference to a line from the 1971 hit Your Song.
City were victorious at Wembley thanks to a goal in either half from Ilkay Gundogan – his first the fastest in FA Cup final history – as they added the trophy to the Premier League title they won in May.
They face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday seeking to become only the second English club after Manchester United to have won all three major trophies in a single season.
Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs – Scotland’s five European qualifiers
Saturday’s Scottish Cup final ironed out the European qualifiers and plans for next season.
Celtic’s win over Inverness denied Caley Thistle a place in Europe and ensured Hibernian qualified through their fifth-placed finish in the cinch Premiership.
The result guaranteed group-stage football for Aberdeen and also gave Hearts a later start.
Here the PA new agency looks at Scotland’s five European qualifiers.
CelticEntry: Champions League group stage
Draw date: August 31
First game: September 19-20
Possible opponents: Celtic will be in pot four, meaning they cannot draw Newcastle for example. Although the seeds have not been finalised, a worst-case draw could see the Hoops facing Manchester City, Real Madrid and Milan. A kinder draw could see them come up against Benfica, RB Leipzig and Red Star Belgrade.
Prospects: Celtic will need to finish in the top three of their group to extend their European run beyond Christmas. A top-two finish would see them enter the Champions League knockout stages while third secures entry to the Europa League.
RangersEntry: Champions League third-qualifying round
Draw date: July 24
First game: August 8-9
Possible first opponents: Michael Beale’s side have four possible opponents in the non-champions path, including Sturm Graz and Serbians TSC Backa Topola. Other potential opponents could be Servette, Panathinaikos or Belgian or Ukrainian sides.
Prospects: Rangers will be looking to make the Champions League group stages again and will need to win two ties to do so. Defeat at either stage would see them drop into the Europa League. They are guaranteed group-stage football whatever happens with two qualifying defeats sending them into the Europa Conference League.
AberdeenEntry: Europa League play-offs
Draw date: August 7
First game: August 24
Possible first opponents: There are a host of variables before the Dons enter the fray but Swiss side Lugano will definitely be among their six possible opponents, while Slavia Prague and Olympiacos might also be on the list.
Prospects: The Dons will reach the Europa League group stage if they win their play-off and drop into the Conference groups if not.
HeartsEntry: Europa Conference League third-qualifying round
Draw date: July 24
First game: August 10
Prospects: Hearts will need to win two ties to secure a second consecutive season in the Conference League group stages.
Possible first opponents: Hearts will be unseeded and earlier rounds will determine the list of seeds but AZ Alkmaar, Dinamo Kyiv, Partizan Belgrade and Rapid Vienna will be among them.
HibernianEntry: Europa Conference League second-qualifying round
Draw date: June 20-21
First game: July 27
Prospects: Hibs need to win three ties to make the group stages.
Possible first opponents: Hibs will be seeded and a list of 45 unseeded clubs will be split into groups nearer the draw date. UEFA normally uses a regional basis when formulating the groups so potential opponents could be Swedish sides Hammarby or Kalmar plus, depending on earlier results, Crusaders or Connah’s Quay.
Inverness’ Scottish Cup final performance can boost confidence – Roddy MacGregor
Roddy MacGregor believes Inverness’ performance in the 3-1 Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic can boost their promotion confidence for next season.
The Championship side had beaten cinch Premiership outfits Livingston and Kilmarnock on their way to Saturday’s Hampden Park showpiece but had finished sixth in the league.
Celtic proved too tough an opponent as goals from attackers Kyogo Furuhashi, substitute Liel Abada and Jota completed the domestic treble with Caley Thistle replacement Dan MacKay’s header a consolation.
However, MacGregor – a late second-half substitute for Scott Allardice – insists positives can be taken from the performance going into next season.
The 21-year-old midfielder said: “We went toe-to-toe with the best team in the country at the moment and in previous rounds we had beaten Premiership teams.
“It just shows that when we are on our game we can give any team a game and that definitely gives us confidence going into next season.
“We were disappointed obviously, it is never nice to lose in such a big game. It is not a nice feeling.
“Up against a team like Celtic it is always going to be tricky but I think we did reasonably well and limited their chances.
“We genuinely thought we could win the game and that’s the sign of a good dressing room and we are looking to go again next season and hopefully we have a fully-fit squad.”
MacKay, on loan from Hibernian, was pleased that Inverness proved the doom-mongers wrong with their spirited performance.
The 22-year-old winger said: “The boys can be proud of themselves. We put up a really good battle.
“Everyone doubted us and said it would be six or seven nil but we proved them wrong and showed that a Championship team that was midtable was more than a match at times for Celtic but they were clinical at the end of the day.
“If you get a goal you never know what can happen in these games. Pressure happens and chances come and go in games.
“We took our chance but unfortunately we never got another chance and Celtic were clinical.
“But we need to be proud, it was an achievement getting there.”
Asked about his future with Hibs, he said: “I don’t know yet. I wait to see what happens.”
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