Let’s be right about this… nobody enjoys a good football tournament more than me.

Although England seem doomed never to win one in my lifetime, there is nevertheless something rather beautiful about these occasions – fans from all over the globe coming together for a giant party, players you have never heard of getting their moment to shine and at least once country turning up thinking they can win it, only to be on the plane home while it is still refuelling.

The intense and relentless onslaught of games squeezed into a single month allows us football addicts to overdose on the sport we love and cherish. It’s a large helping of sporting joy served, in England’s case, with a side order of inevitable heartbreak.

But win or lose, there is absolutely no disputing the magic of competitions like the World Cup and the European Cup.

Which is why you would expect me to be all in favour of Arsene Wenger’s recent suggestion that both these tournaments should be held every two years, rather than every four as they are now.

The former Arsenal boss, now FIFA’s chief of global football development, put forward the idea as part of his proposals for shaking up the sport.

Essentially what it would mean is that every year there would be a proper, meaningful and important tournament for players and fans to enjoy, and irrelevant competitions like the UEFA Nations League could be consigned to the dustbin of history.

To be fair, when I first heard his idea, I was rather giddy with excitement.

A tournament, a proper tournament, every single year was a plan of true genius, I thought to myself. World, European, World, European. Year after year of unbridled joy.

But, on deeper reflection, I am not entirely sure.

Is it not possible that one of the main reasons we find World Cups, and indeed European Cups, so awesome is specifically because they aren’t held so often? Do we get so deeply invested in these tournaments because of the longer period of anticipation?

There is a distinct possibility of overkill

Having a four-year gap means these competitions are rare and exclusive, something for players to aspire to and fans to savour. Churn them out every 24 months and they could become just another date on the calendar.

There is a distinct possibility of overkill.

Wenger, who was speaking to a sports channel about his plans, argued that reducing the gap between the competitions would be better for players.

“If you look at the teams in the World Cups, the average age is 27 or 28. Because the World Cup is every four years there are very few chances to win it again because when they go back to the next World Cup they are 32 or 33,” he explained.

And that is undeniably true.

But again, isn’t that what makes getting to a World Cup so rewarding for a player? The very fact that most top players only have a handful of chances of playing in the finals makes it something to dream of and aspire towards.

As for those who actually win it, I would suggest they have already achieved the peak of their career, the greatest possible thing they can do on the international stage. Obviously, the opportunity to win it a second time would be nice, but surely that’s not really as significant as lifting that trophy for the first time, is it?

Another of Wenger’s arguments is that more frequent tournaments – the World Cup in particular – would help develop football in smaller countries by giving them “more opportunities to play at the world level”.

On this point I like his sentiments but can’t see higher levels of frequency making that much difference to smaller nations.

Ultimately you are still going to end up with the vast majority of the usual suspects qualifying for the finals, unless the qualification process itself is changed to ensure minnows are guaranteed slots in the main tournament.

And when that has been suggested in the past, there has been all sorts of resistance from the bigger nations who don’t want Galapagos Islands at the party while, say, Spain are left at home.

Another of Wenger’s suggestions was that the whole world’s football calendar should be brought in line – ideally running from March to November every year.

A noble concept that is doomed to failure.

While it’s true there may be some logic to that time frame, he is asking for Europe – football’s home and heartland – to change their schedule to fall in line with countries like Japan and the US.

And that is not something I can see happening.

All in all, I have to say I like the cut of Wenger’s jib. He is using his role at FIFA to try and make a substantive difference and improve the international game for the better. Maybe even the game at all levels.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has welcomed Wenger’s proposals, saying they will now be discussed, and decisions could be taken in the next 12 months.

Ultimately, you would expect some of the Frenchman’s suggestions to make it through, while others will be consigned to the scrapheap of unworkable ideas. That’s just the way these things work.

But one thing is for sure; it’s nice to have someone like Wenger, a man who knows football inside and out and has a genuine love for the game, coming out with the ideas rather than some faceless bureaucrat or greed-based FIFA think tank.

Which is what we would have got under Sepp Blatter.

email: james@quizando.com
twitter: @maltablade