UEFA’s new chief executive has given his qualified backingto FIFA plans to revive the Club World Championship.
Olsson believes there could be a role for the competition but only if teams were free to decide whether to take part.
“We have to wait and see the outcome…because it depends very much on the format,” he said.
“If it is only one club and the format is something we think could work, then I think the view of the (UEFA) executive is that it could be worth playing,” he told journalists.
FIFA wants the traditional annual fixture between the European and South American champions too be replaced by a six-team tournament to bring together the top clubs from its six confederations. It would be held in Japan, over eight days in December, starting in 2005.
The plan is bound to be contested by Europe’s leading clubs which are opposed to adding further fixtures to their heavy schedules. Olsson, however, recommends participation be voluntary.
“It has to be up to the clubs to decide whether to participate or not,” he said.
