Lahm: I don’t agree with the World Cup restructuring, it feels like football is only about money
Nowadays, people all over the world can watch football matches on many platforms, and soon the number of Champions League matches in each season will continue to increase. As research has pointed out, our attention is declining, but this trend is difficult to stop. Co-Chairman Infantino and his adviser Wenger’s idea of the World Cup restructuring may eventually go too far.
They hope that the World Cup will be held every two years, and the European Cup and other continents may also need to follow this rhythm, which means that every summer in the future will have major football matches. This proposal was protested by UEFA, many European national football associations and some players. As the director of the European Cup in 2024, I support these protests and shorten the World Cup cycle. It gives people a feeling that football is only about money. Major sports events require patience and time, which are vital to their sustainable development.
Too many football matches will affect the fans. People will remember that Greece was the European champion from 2004 to 2008, the Portuguese stayed in the European championship for 5 years, the Spaniard was 8 years, and Germany was the world’s number one from 2014 to 2018. one. The shortening of the hosting cycle will have an impact on this, and the annual tournament is like adding a social media channel to your phone.
Too many football matches also affect players. Henry once said: “If you play the World Cup every 2 years, it is difficult to face the mental level.” Playing for the national team is a special job, which is accompanied by A lot of responsibilities, and more for playing football for the whole country and fans, not just for money. I myself retired from the national team in 2014. I participated in 6 major tournaments in the German team. I made a decision long ago because it was too exhausting to play for the club and the national team at the same time. I stayed in the club for another 3 years.
Too many football matches will also affect the social added value of football. Infantino and Wenger ignore that club events and national team events are essentially different. Club events tend to be more commercialized. The Champions League is part of the entertainment industry. And national team matches must always be part of the public interest, not just a business, here, football has established a connection with ordinary people.
A large-scale sporting event requires extensive preparations in terms of infrastructure and organization. We need to talk to many people and negotiate with many organizations. What is football, what should it be, and what can it achieve? We need to take time to answer these questions. If you want to shape something, if you want to bring about change, you need time. You can’t do this once every two years. Otherwise, the relevance and credibility of the championship will be affected, football will lose its power, and the European Cup will be nothing more than pure entertainment.
