Northern European countries oppose FIFA’s biennial World Cup plan

FIFA says biennial tournaments will raise money and fuel soccer development, help close the gap on European and South American dominance, and give players and fans more meaningful games to watch.

The six-nation Nordic group of European soccer federations have detailed their opposition to FIFA's push to stage the World Cup every two years.

Increasing the number of World Cups would “cannibalize” existing competitions, make European Championships “obsolete” and marginalize women's tournaments, the federations wrote in a co-signed statement.

“It (the FIFA proposal) can fundamentally make it impossible to continue with our current model of national tournaments and national team matches,” said the statement, which was released after a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.