England Women’s boss Wiegman rejects ‘unnecessary’ plan for a World Cup every two years
SARINA WIEGMAN has given the idea of a bi-annual World Cup the thumbs down ahead of her first match in charge of the Lionesses.
And the England Women’s head coach believes a two-yearly contest could affect the wellbeing of players.
Wiegman, 51, was speaking to reporters days before the Lionesses take on North Macedonia at St Mary’s in a Women’s World Cup qualifier on September 17.
And the team will play Luxembourg four days later in the second of their Group D duels for a place in the 2023 contest to be hosted in Australia and New Zealand.
Fifa are exploring the possibility of staging men’s World Cups every two years under new proposals led by their global football development chief Arsene Wenger.
And the concept for a bi-annual women’s tournament is being backed by former USA coach Jill Ellis who is leading a Fifa advisory group on the future of the women’s game.
Wiegman said: “So the Euros are great, the World Cup is great, the Olympics are great so that is three tournaments.
“I think if you have a World Cup every two years that is too much for the players at the moment so I wouldn’t be cheering for it right now.
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“It is too many tournaments. For Europe, it is good (at the moment) and the development in Europe for women’s football is ahead of most other continents.
“So for Europe, it is not necessary, it is about visibility but I think also think we need to take care of the well-being of the players and sometimes they need a rest.”
Wiegman, who steered the Netherlands to a Women's Euros win in 2017, is relishing the challenge of overseeing England’s bid to win the tournament on home soil next year.
The 2022 contest will take place from July 6 to July 22 with the opening game to be held at Old Trafford and the final to be held at Wembley.
Expectations are high with the Lionesses having reached the contest semis on three occasions including twice in the past 12 years.
And the England chief acknowledged the campaign to win the Euros will be tough with competition from teams such as Sweden, Germany and France, who are among the top five sides in the world.
Wiegman added: “It's a hard step. It's also it's very ambitious and very challenging too.
“But when you work in this environment you want challenges. You know that there are expectations.
“The development of the game in Europe has grown so fast including in England, but also for example in Spain.
“I came here to go to the next level and to help create a place where the players can shine.”
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