The President of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, has called on the European Footbll Federal (UEFA) to support the move to stage the FIFA World Cup every two years as it will benefit the African continent.
The debate over the complete revamp of the international calendar was revived at FIFA 71st assembly in May with the world football governing body currently carrying out a feasibility study into making the men’s and women’s World Cup a biennial event rather than only taking place once every four years.
Pinnick who represented FIFA President, Gianni Infantino at Ukraine’s 30th-anniversary celebration in Kiev at the weekend, pleaded for solidarity from the heads of the European nation in attendance.
“In Africa, we are struggling to come close to Europe because the truth is Europe has gone very far,” Pinnick said.
“We recognise the fact that Europe is the strongest economic confederation, it’s the strongest political confederation, very well organised, but we always request for some kind of solidarity from Europe, it is very important that we have that bond.
“The same solidarity you gave for the 2026 World Cup where your slot was increased from 13 to 16, just three addition, that’s the same solidarity we want from UEFA at every point in time.
“We are keying into what FIFA is pitching and we believe that it is not just what we want to hear, people want to watch football every day.
“I was in Doha a few days ago for the Arab Cup and trust me, the quality of that tournament is as if you are watching the actual World Cup. Same time they played in Doha, the same time the Premier League was on. The frequency of football matches does not reduce the quality of football, I can tell you that, that’s why in Africa, we are 100 per cent behind the biennial World Cup.
“Look at the legendary Champions League, everybody eagerly wants to watch it, it’s like your phone, every minute, you want to look at your phone because in today’s world, people want to be engaged positively and football is a space they want to be engaged in.
“All that we are requesting from Europe and the rest of the world is their solidarity. We recognise the strength of Europe, we recognise the strength of Ukraine, nobody is going to undermine that, nobody is going to take the strength from you.
“On the scale of one to 10, if you are at eight, it will take you to 10, if Africa is at three, it will take us to six, that is what we are looking at. In Africa, we watch the Champions League as if it’s our traditional right, we watch the European Cup as if it’s our traditional right, we buy your TV rights close to €700 million, but we want solidarity from you, that is very important.”