India coach Stimac backs FIFA’s biennial WC plan but wants to know if there are financial reasons

India football team head coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday backed FIFA’s plan to hold the World Cup every two years, but said he would like to know whether the world body could seek “more money” for itself from such a move. Has been doing. FIFA revealed its detailed plans Last month, after meeting with retired players, a proposal to redraw the calendar of international football competitions with the biennial World Cup for men and women strongly supported by FIFA President Gianni Infantino it was done.

“As India coach, I would like to have (World Cup every two years). I will support it because it can hopefully benefit India more in the near future (to be able to play in the World Cup),” Stimac said during a virtual interaction after India’s SAFF Championship title. Football needs to develop in the World Cup and to do that we need to open the World Cup to countries that have never participated in them. It is very easy to find your chance in the World Cup after having tournaments every two years. However, he added that the scheme would not benefit weaker football countries if the main reason behind it is FIFA’s financial gain.

“But if the reason (behind the plan) is mainly money for the organization (FIFA), then I don’t see any benefit. I’d like to hear a good explanation of what’s behind this move.” needs to be. What are the main reasons behind this move. Is it more money for the organization (FIFA) or something?” asked the 54-year-old who was a member of the Croatian team that won the 1998 World Cup bronze medal.

The All India Football Federation is yet to officially comment on the matter, while the country’s neighbors Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka have backed the move last month. Last month, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) welcomed the consultation process initiated by FIFA to explore options to hold the men’s and women’s World Cups every two years instead of the current four-year cycle. He confirmed that former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who heads FIFA’s head of global football development and is at the forefront of the plan, has invited national team coaches to discuss the move.

Stimac, who coached the Croatia national team in 2012–13, said: “It’s a big discussion at the moment and I’m going to attend a Zoom conference (on Tuesday) where Arsene Wenger talks about this potential future project. I’m going to tell.” FIFA has not set a formal date for a decision on its World Cup proposal but has suggested that its 211 national members may meet in December.

Stimac, who took charge of the Indian team in early 2019, said that “the result is not always what we wanted” but added that the team has improved a lot under his supervision. “Two and a half years ago, we started rebuilding the team. Because we picked more technical football, took over football, we picked more technical players. So it was a new selection,” he said. We did the draw (1-1) against Bangladesh (in 2019) at the Salt Lake Stadium in the World Cup Qualifier match, everything else was done in very tough conditions. But we still achieved our goal, which is to qualify for the third round of the Asian Cup qualification.

“Now two and a half years later, we have some very important players in the team who are the backbone players and at least three players for each spot with similar qualities. We are no longer afraid of losing someone because there is replacement. This is a step forward we have made.”

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