FIFA has drawn up radical plans to reshape international football by holding the World Cup every two years.

 

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is at the helm of the idea which would also see a major international tournament taking place every summer, with intra-continental competitions like the European Championship alternating with the Word Cup every year.

 

 

Everton boss Benitez stressed he is yet to completely understand the radical changes FIFA are pushing, but revealed his first impression is that players are already playing more international games than they should be playing.

 

Benitez made it clear that players are already subjected to an unnecessary workload by being required to turn up for their national team to play games devoid of any competitive merit and thus is not happy about the possibility of them having to play yet more games, which would be the case if there are biennial World Cups.

 

 

Asked about his thoughts on having biennial World Cups, Benitez told a press conference: “I think it will be interesting to know exactly all the details, but my first impression with international football now is that we have too many games and they call them and they [the players] told me the other day they are [easy] games.

 

“So, when you play against a country that you can beat 5-0 or 10-0 or something like that, the only thing you are doing is wasting time and risking your players travelling around the world.

 

 

“So, for me, too many international games and we have to be careful with that because in the end the clubs are paying the players and they have to perform in their leagues, and after compete at the maximum level, not [in easy] games.

 

“Now when you have to qualify for the Euros, or you have to qualify for the World Cup, maybe 60 per cent of the games mean nothing because you will win already

 

“It is not that you have to play more games, you have to play less games that are more intense and more competitive games.”

 

FIFA are set to meet with football associations, leagues, clubs and players’ unions to discuss the plans of a biennial World Cup, while UEFA, along with all the Premier League clubs, are against Wenger’s idea.