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Football's revolution: Where is it heading?

There is an obsession amongst the current leaders of football to change the game in a way that will make it unrecognisable, but with the revolution having now begun, just where is football heading?

Over the next few months key decisions will have to be made that will mark the future of one of the world's most popular sports, although it's far from certain whether these decisions will be for the betterment of the game.

Every step forward will always be fraught with controversy, especially to the purists that remain involved in the game.

A small change in the rules could have enormous consequences, as we have seen previously with the introduction of VAR, which has changed football and the way it is played and officiated.

On paper VAR could be deemed a success as we now see offsides called correctly and handball goals correctly disallowed, yet because of the continuous tweaking of the rules, the technology has been left wanting in some cases.

FIFA wants to be at the head of the new football and are putting forward a proposal that will turn the calendar upside down, moving the World Cup to an event which takes place every two years.

The intention is that October will be a month dedicated to international football and the rest of the dates are for club matches.

"The current calendar is out of date," explained FIFA's development of football officer, Arsene Wenger.

"In September there is the first break, in October the second, in November the third and in March the fourth.

"In June there is the last window and in July the new season begins, this is all too much."

It's impossible for this action to leave anyone indifferent and a number of groups have spoken out against the move, not least the European Clubs Association (ECA).

"FIFA's proposal would have a direct and destructive impact on club play, both nationally and internationally, furthermore the proposals would put the health and wellbeing of players at risk," an ECA statement read.

The European battle

The mutation of football seems impossible to stop, whilst there is the continued battle between the new Champions League format proposed by UEFA and Florentino Perez's European Super League.

Irrespective of how you look at the situation, football is going to change drastically one way or another, there are too many conflicting parties with contrasting ideas.

The new Champions League has been approved since March and it will first be played in 2024, with more teams and a new format being introduced.

No longer will teams play against three opponents twice in the group stage, but they will face 10 different teams with the best eight teams automatically qualifying for the knockout stages.

The offside revolution

Wenger is also championing a wholesale change to the offside rule which will work in tandem with the technology available through VAR.

It's said that the system will be automated somehow, with offsides never being wrong again.

"There are many possibilities, I'm obliged to keep it a secret, but it will be the next of the great evolutions of refereeing," Wenger declared.

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