LONDON: J眉rgen Klopp seems sure why FIFA is so determined to gain support for World Cups every two years, and he鈥檚 not pleased by apparent financial motivations.
鈥淚n the end,鈥� the Liverpool manager said Friday, 鈥渋t鈥檚 all about money, that鈥檚 how it is.鈥�
Across in Germany, Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann was as concerned about the impact on FIFA鈥檚 flagship events if the frequency was doubled.
鈥淚鈥檓 no friend of that,鈥� Nagelsmann said. 鈥淥n the one hand, it affects the overload on players and there鈥檚 a devaluation of the World Cup. If it takes place more often, it doesn鈥檛 have the same significance.鈥�
That鈥檚 the type of dissent Arsene Wenger hasn鈥檛 highlighted in presentations to media this week during what FIFA calls a consultation process. The former Arsenal manager, in his role as FIFA鈥檚 chief of global football development, is advancing a vision that so concerns two of the game鈥檚 current great coaches.
Klopp is a respected figure in FIFA. Just three weeks ago, Klopp was being honored by FIFA, receiving the men鈥檚 coach of the year award from Wenger.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not another sport in world I鈥檓 sure with such a relentless calendar, no physical sport,鈥� Klopp said. 鈥淭here are more demanding sports in the world, like athletics, marathon runs, all kind of things of course. But they don鈥檛 run 20, 30 or 40 a year, of course not and other physical sports don鈥檛 have this calendar.
鈥淲e all know why it鈥檚 happening whatever people say that it is about giving different countries the opportunity, that鈥檚 why we have more teams in the World Cup.鈥�
But ultimately Klopp sees those political arguments as a mask for attempts to generate more cash for FIFA.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 fine,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e do it not because of money but because we love it. That鈥檚 why we started it but of course we get lots of money as well.
鈥淏ut in the end at one point, somebody has to start understanding that without the players 鈥� the most important ingredients of this wonderful game 鈥� we cannot play it, that鈥檚 how it is ... nobody is more important than the players.鈥�
FIFA flew former players into Qatar during this week as part of a nominal consultation process.
Brazil great Ronaldo, former Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and Australia record scorer Tim Cahill were enlisted for a news conference backing changing the four-year World Cup cycle in place since the first edition in 1930.
But such clear support is less evident from active figures in the sport.
鈥淭here鈥檚 the flood of scheduling, which is getting more and more and is sometimes hard to control,鈥� Nagelsmann said. 鈥淲e all have to, most of all in Germany and at FC Bayern, try to stay within sensible financial boundaries. If we have more and more games, whether it鈥檚 national or international games, then the squad just has to get bigger and bigger and you have a cost explosion. That all has to be capped and it鈥檚 not that simple.鈥�
Wenger has argued that FIFA鈥檚 priorities were less travel for players and less disruption for their clubs plus giving young talent worldwide more meaningful games. The current system 鈥� that typically sees players based in Europe taking long-haul flights home throughout the season in short breaks for national-team games 鈥� could be replaced by a single block of fewer qualifying games in October. International tournaments would occupy June each year.
It鈥檚 unclear whether it needs more regular World Cups to introduce the mandatory 25-day vacation in July envisaged for players before rejoining their clubs.
鈥淚 think this flood of games doesn鈥檛 mean that the quality of individual games is better, but rather worse, and I think that if football becomes more unattractive, then in the end there will be less money flowing,鈥� Nagelsmann said.
鈥淧eople won鈥檛 be watching the TV as much and, if something else on TV is clearly more interesting than the football, because the players 鈥� can鈥檛 run any more, then that doesn鈥檛 do us any good.鈥�