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"Too much football would affect the fans": Philipp Lahm opposes the World Cup project every two years

2021-10-19T15:34:59.395Z


In a column for the British daily The Guardian, Philipp Lahm, former captain of the Mannschaft, now 37 years old and


Philipp Lahm believes that a World Cup organized every two years would harm football in all its components.

In the column he keeps for The Guardian, the former international defender of Bayern, now in charge of the organization of Euro 2024, presents his arguments against the idea put forward by Gianni Infantino, the president of the Fifa.

First, Lahm believes that football is already taking up a lot of the brain time available to fans.

“There has never been so much football,” he writes.

Every day someone somewhere is playing someone else and you can follow them anywhere in the world on any device - live, on demand, or just highlights, on YouTube, DAZN

(a English subscription sports streaming service)

or Twitter.

There is more to come.

Soon, the Champions League will host a hundred more games a year.

"

A World Cup every two years would finally kill football's golden goose |

Philipp Lahm https://t.co/HSjF6o2WUR

- The Guardian (@guardian) October 19, 2021

“Our collective focus, as the research calls it, wanes in the process, but it's hard to stop the trend,” he continues.

What Fifa President Gianni Infantino and his advisor Arsène Wenger now have in mind could ultimately lead to overconsumption.

(…) The European Championship as well as other continental competitions would probably follow this rhythm at some point, so that in the future a major football tournament would be organized every year.

"

"It would give the impression that football is about money"

Philipp lahm

Lahm said he sided with UEFA, many European associations and clubs, as well as supporters and some players who are contesting the project.

“Shortening the World Cup cycle would make it look like football is about money,” he said. And big sporting events need patience and time. This is crucial for their sustainability. Too much football would affect the fans. The great tournaments are anchored in their memory (…). The Greeks were allowed to call themselves European Champions for four years, from 2004 to 2008, the Portuguese for five years, the Spaniards for eight years. From 2014 to 2018, Germany was No. 1 in the world. Speeding up the cycle would make many experiences and memories interchangeable. An annual tournament would be like an additional social media channel on your phone or other streaming app. "

As a former international player, Lahm thinks we have reached the limit of reasonableness.

He reports in particular the words of Thierry Henry: "If you play that every two years, mentally, it's hard, describes the former French striker, who played seven tournaments for France.

I came out of them mentally broken… ”

"A World Cup is more than a business"

Philipp lahm

“What he means,” resumed Lahm, “is that playing for a national team is special work. You play less for the money, more for the country and the fans. It comes with a lot of responsibility, it's exhausting. I myself retired from the national team in 2014 - it was my sixth tournament

(the World Cup in Brazil)

. I had decided it long before, because the double burden is intense. I played three more years for my club. "

Lahm also points to certain abuses in the governance of world football: “Its two competitive formats, Infantino and Wenger seem to neglect it, differ in their essence. The methods of club football are similar to those of business. It is becoming more and more scalable, digital and abstract. The Champions League is part of the entertainment industry. This makes the contrast offered by the national team all the more important. It must always remain part of the common good. A World Cup is more than a business. This is where everyone comes together. Here, football connects with people. (…) The European Championship should be a catalyst for grassroots sport. We must not waste this opportunity, because even Germany only gets a tournament like this every twenty to thirty years. "

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-10-19

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