INTERNATIONAL: England have become the latest national team to voice their objection to FIFA’s proposal for a World Cup every two years, instead of four. They join UEFA in saying that if the wheel isn’t broken, it shouldn’t be fixed.

The England squad have been in training ahead of their trip to Poland for a world cup qualifier. It’s a process that’d be never ending if FIFA gets its way and the World Cup is held every other year. England manager Gareth Southgate says some things should be left unchanged:

"I can see that the game always needs to evolve and be forward-thinking, but also there are some traditions that are very special and maybe are worth protecting. But I think the biggest thing is that it's a welcome decision to discuss the overall calendar and that includes the demands on the players in particular. But also, we don't need to put more into the calendar. If somethings going in, something else has got to come out. So, that requires all the governing bodies to get together and make sure that that calendar gets sorted out and there's going to be moments where they're going to have to do that because the winter World Cup affects a lot of that calendar. So, they're looking far enough ahead I think that there's no reason why any proposals for the future shouldn't combine major club competitions, major international competitions and everything that it entails."

FIFA's congress has voted to carry out a feasibility study on holding the men's and women's World Cups every two years, although the proposal is already being met with stiff opposition from clubs and national squads around the world.

^{Photo: NEWS CONFERENCE WITH ENGLAND MANAGER GARETH SOUTHGATE}