Northern European countries oppose biennial World Cup plan

By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer

GENEVA (AP) — 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. They say increasing the number of World Cups would “cannibalize” existing competitions. Their statement says a biennial World Cup could make European Championships “obsolete” and marginalize women’s tournaments. Most of the Nordic soccer nations have never or rarely qualified for the World Cup. But they say FIFA should not rush through plans designed to help other regions which could be achieved by harming Europe.