After the European Clubs Association (ECA), the World Leagues Forum (WLF) has officially voiced its opposition to World Football Federation (FIFA)-proposed plans to change the format of the World Cup.

In a new report released by WLF, FIFA'S biennial World Cup plans are argued to be detrimental to both fans and players. The forum, which groups 42 leagues from around the world, vehemently opposes both the biennial plan and the creation of two extended international windows.

The WLF requests FIFA to unequivocally abandon its biennial World Cup proposal as it is unwanted by fans and would destroy value for football at every level.

Previously, FIFA had unveiled the proposal to conduct the men's World Cup every two years instead of the current format of every four years. This proposal has been opposed by Europe's leading clubs. WLF is the latest organisation in a long list of bodies that don’t want the World Cup to be staged every two years. Confederations UEFA and CONMEBOL, ECA and broadcast behemoth beIN Sports are among those opposing FIFA’s plans.

FIFPro President David Aganzo raised his voice against the plans and pointed out that new formats are threatening the fabric of our domestic industry and overwhelm a calendar that is already overcrowded and requires workload safeguards.

In a previous report, the WLF has calculated that a biennial World Cup would cost domestic leagues and UEFA around €8 billion in lost TV rights, match day agreements, and commercial agreements.

Reporting by N.AN - Translating by M.D