Match Calendar: "I've been thinking of ways to improve the football of tomorrow" (A. Wenger, FIFA)

"I've been thinking of ways to improve the football of tomorrow. The international match calendar governs the balance between club and national team football by setting the dates on which players represent their countries. The balance is 80:20 and we want it to stay that way. But the current format doesn't work anymore and is outdated," said Arsène Wenger (FRA), chief of global football development at FIFA, on 19/10/2021.

The French strategist, who is the driving force behind FIFA's biennial World Cup project, is holding videoconferences with the coaches of men's teams from around the world on 19 and 21/10/2021 to discuss "a range of talking points, including player health, international windows, the frequency of FIFA World Cup finals and other important issues in the game," said the world body on 18/10/2021.

"The big idea, initially, is to group the qualifying matches into two international windows, in October and March, and then at the end of the season to offer a World Cup and Confederation championships (the Euro for UEFA) every two years. Most players are in favour," said…