Gareth Southgate urges Arsene Wenger and Fifa to deliver clarity over controversial World Cup plans

World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - England Training
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Jack Rosser @JackRosser_11 October 2021

England boss Gareth Southgate has called for more clarity from FIFA and Arsene Wenger on controversial plans for a biennial World Cup.

The former Arsenal manager, who is now head of football development at the governing body, is pushing plans to overhaul the international match calendar and hold a major tournament every summer. The plans would see there either be one or two international breaks every season with one of the European Championship or World Cup taking place each summer.

Wenger's proposals have proved unpopular with fans, managers and players but the Frenchman remains confident he can push them through.

Southgate says there is need for change in the match calendar but says the plans from Wenger change every time he sees a proposal and need more consultation from figures across the game.

"I'm not quite sure where everything is," Southgate said.

"I saw some proposals, they seem to be doing the rounds and I'm not quite sure what is on the table. It seems to change every time I speak to Mark Bullingham [the chief executive] at the FA, there has been another presentation and another set of proposals and it's hard to keep up with really.

"Everybody needs to be there in the discussion. Club football and international football. I've said before that there can be tweaks to the calendar that would help everybody and if there are slightly fewer windows but you get the players together for a longer period of time that might help the clubs and international teams.

Southgate added: "If there is only one break per year I don't really understand that as a concept from Fifa when international football is so important. If you're a player and you miss that one month or however long then you don't have an international career at all that year, that doesn't make sense to me."

The controversial plans are set to be put to a vote in December and would come into effect after 2024.

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