FIFA World Cup Plans Get Frosty Response at Olympic Summit

Plans to hold a FIFA World Cup every two years get a cold shoulder from the top levels of Olympic sport. The pushback came at the 10th edition of the Olympic Summit, a day-long meeting organized by the IOC annually to review major issues ahead for the Olympic movement.

Among the dozen plus agenda items the proposal to stage the FIFA World Cup every two years appears to have drawn the most concern.

“The attendees voiced serious concerns over proposals from FIFA for a biennial World Cup and the impact on the world-wide sport event calendar. It was noted that, until today, there has been neither any information nor consultation with other IFs, Continental Associations of NOCs or the IOC,” said a statement from the IOC following the four-hour virtual meeting.

As one of the participants in the meeting, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was on the firing line for comments from IOC President Thomas Bach and others about the affect they believe a more frequent World Cup would have on the already crowded international sport calendar.

It is not yet known who spoke out and what they said. The four-hour virtual meeting was closed to press and public.

Infantino, himself an IOC member since 2020, tried to tamp down the worries of his colleagues. He offered “to engage the Olympic Movement in these discussions” is how the IOC statement characterized Infantino’s response to the incoming he received during the meeting.

Infantino is said to have downplayed the imminence of a change in schedule, explaining “that the ongoing discussions in FIFA were broader in scope than a biennial World Cup, and that what had been presented so far was only the preliminary results, which are still under discussion within FIFA”.

Infantino believes a biennial World Cup will boost football among smaller nations. Towards a more inclusive tournament, in 2026 the field of qualified World Cup teams will rise from 32 to 48.

Infantino told his colleagues in the Olympic Summit that plans to change the schedule are still in discussion as part of broader planning FIFA is conducting. At one time there had been talk of convening an extraordinary FIFA congress this month to consider the change. But after widespread blowback to the proposal, Infantino now says he will pursue a resolution based on consensus.

The summit declaration noted concerns over the U.S. led diplomatic boycott for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The White House announced the move this week as a protest against China for human rights practices.

“The Summit stands firmly against any politicization of the Olympic Games and sport, and strongly emphasized the need for the political neutrality of the IOC, the Olympic Games and the entire Olympic Movement,” says the IOC release without specifics on the discussion.

Present for the summit as is customary were the leaders of the top three national Olympic committees: the U.S., China and Russia. It is not known yet whether U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair Susanne Lyons or Guo Zhongwen, her counterpart from China, made any comments on the matter.

Protestors against China tried to enter IOC headquarters in Lausanne during the meeting Saturday. The group apparently forced their way into the building hurting a guard. Police were called to dispel the protestors.

“We have engaged multiple times with peaceful protesters and explained our position, but we will not engage with violent protesters who used force to enter the IOC building and injured a security guard badly by doing so,” says an IOC statement.

In other items on the agenda:

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were hailed as an “overwhelming global success” regardless of the havoc resulting from a one-year postponement.

Olympic qualifiers under the banner of the IOC will now be possible for international federations and NOCs.

“The Olympic Summit supported the comprehensive offers for the development of dedicated Olympic qualifying brands for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the use of the Olympic digital broadcast platforms,”says the summit declaration.

The move to change the Olympic program to a more youth-oriented selection of sports was noted for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, Skateboard, surfing and sport climbing will replace boxing, modern pentathlon and weightlifting moving forward from those games.

The IOC Virtual Series, a gaming competition launched in 2021 will be reprised in 2022. That report delivered by David Lappartient, UCI president and chair of the Esports and Gaming Liaison Group for the IOC.

The 28 members of the Olympic Summit included all four IOC vice presidents, the chair of the IOC Athletes Commission, representatives of major sports federations and the leaders of the five continental associations of NOCs.

Paralympics representative Andrew Parsons was excused for absence.

Guests included World Anti Doping Agency President Witold Banka and Valerie Fourneyon, head of the Independent Testing Agency .