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The World Cup should be held every two years according to a report prepared for the G-14 grouping of top clubs by Hypercube, a Dutch consultancy (the report is not official G-14 policy). The report also recommends expansion of the European Champions League. The biggest envisaged expansion of the Champions League would see 48 clubs playing 269 matches, compared with 32 clubs playing 125 matches under existing rules. Such an expansion would have considerable implications for domestic competitions, but the potential motivation is made clear when the report suggests that such a move could increase Championship League revenues by up to £412m a year. Under the so-called 'Grand Slam' proposals for a biannual World Cup, qualifying matches for the World Cup would be abolished. In Europe national teams would be split into three divisions the top sixteen competing for the European championship. The four worst performers from the top tier would be relegated to the second division for the next championship two years later with the best four teams in the second tier being promoted. Europe's representatives in the World Cup would be the 12 best performers. Uefa said that the proposals were 'a direct assault on national teams'. These proposals represent the latest intensification of the struggle for control of the international game between the governing bodies and the top clubs represented by G-14.
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