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Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has voiced his support for the proposed expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup starting in 2025.
Arsene Wenger, former Arsenal manager from 1996 to 2018, is now FIFA's chief of global football development.
In his capacity, the legendary manager has thrown his weight behind FIFA's decision to expand the Club World Cup starting in 2025.
"The positive impact that this [the Club World Cup] will have on clubs is going to be huge because it will increase resources for clubs all over the world to develop and to compete," Wenger said on Tuesday.
"In Europe we are lucky, but it's important that we make football global and this creates a chance for other clubs to progress, this is the real target."
On Sunday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed plans for the first edition of the revised tournament, set to last 29 days in the summer of 2025 and be hosted in the United States.
The competition will include 32 teams, increased from the seven competing in the ongoing edition, with 12 of those sides coming from Europe. It will be played every four years.
Wenger defends FIFA in battle with player welfare
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Wenger acknowledged the increased workload, but based his defence on the advancement in science and medical resources.
"I accept that the football calendar is a busy one, but this is a competition that is going to take place every four years and of course, the rest period during the competition and afterward has to be respected. There is demand for big competitions in football, and there has been good support for this one.
"The welfare of the players in the last 20 years has increased dramatically as well when you look at injury prevention, recovery work, nutrition, and advances in medical technology. It is unrecognisable from what it used to be.
"VAR has helped with the protection of players, as players know they cannot escape from making bad tackles that cause injury. So overall there have been huge improvements on the welfare side, and we want to continue with that progress.
We see players receiving world awards, the likes of [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Karim] Benzema, all over the age of 35... Not so long ago, that was not possible."
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