Biennial World Cup must be ‘beneficial to all'

Fifa chief Infantino aims to seek consensus over controversial plans

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has signalled that he is open to dropping its controversial plans for a biennial World Cup, saying that he wants to seek a consensus over the plans after facing fierce criticism.

Speaking after a Fifa Council meeting in Zurich on Wednesday, he said the ruling council has agreed to hold a global summit on Dec 20 to discuss the proposals for a World Cup every two years from 2028, rather than every four years.

However, Infantino did not commit to hold a binding vote on the plans – after Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin warned against it, saying there would be “terrible consequences for football in general” if he pushed ahead.

“We have received some legitimate criticism; we have received a lot of enthusiastic comments as well,” Infantino said.

“I do believe we can reach a consensus because what I’ve said from the beginning is that we’re going to change things only if we are completely convinced that it will be beneficial for everybody.”