The first trace I can find of it was in 1999, and ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter mused about reviving the concept two years later in 2001.

I came across it again in a presentation by a consultancy for top European clubs in 2006.

So - tempting as it might be to advise South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) boss Alejandro Domínguez to focus on his region’s own competitions, in light of events in Buenos Aires last weekend - it is probably high time that the proposal got another airing.

The appeal is simple and can be summed up in just three words: double your money.

An overwhelming proportion of the $6 billion (£4.5 billion/€5.5 billion) or so in revenue that world governing body FIFA currently generates over the four-year World Cup cycle is attributable to this one glittering jewel in its crown.

Hold the tournament every two years, instead of every four, as CONMEBOL has proposed, and it ought to be possible, all else being equal, for FIFA to nearly double this revenue total at a stroke.

As chairman of FIFA’s Finance Committee, Domínguez no doubt understands this better than I do.

The plan might also be viewed as an alternative growth strategy to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s suggestion for an overhauled Club World Cup and establishment of a worldwide nations league.

This is currently on hold after the FIFA Council decided further discussions were required.

Whatever form it takes, Infantino needs a growth strategy.

For one thing, FIFA’s record on this score has been less than impressive in recent times, as the body battled to survive an existential crisis.

Its initial $5.66 billion (£4.44 billion/€5 billion) 2015-2018 revenue budget will be exceeded, perhaps fairly comfortably, given the ultimate success of the Russia 2018 tournament.

But this was hardly a demanding target, given that FIFA generated more than that - $5.72 billion (£4.5 billion/€5.05 billion) - in 2011-2014.

By way of comparison, revenue at European football body UEFA grew from €1.7 billion (£1.5 billion/$1.9 billion) in 2012-2013 to €2.84 billion (£2.5 billion/$3.2 billion) in 2016-2017 - an increase of 67 per cent, and from €2.8 billion (£2.5 billion/$3.2 billion) in 2011-12 to €4.58 billion (£4.06 billion/$5.2 billion) in 2015-16 - an increase of 63.5 per cent.

In its last four years, indeed, UEFA - Infantino’s former employer - has generated aggregate revenue of a mammoth €11.25 billion (£10 billion/$12.7 billion) – well over double FIFA’s 2015-2018 budget.

For another thing, Infantino’s glossy manifesto for the 2016 FIFA Presidential election stated that "FIFA should easily be able to ear-mark at least 50 per cent of its income for direct distribution to its Member Associations for football development projects".

Bearing in mind that in the initial FIFA budget for 2015-2018, only 18 per cent of projected income was thus designated, accelerating revenue streams ought to make it easier to move towards that aspirational goal without making cuts elsewhere.

Pressure on this score would of course be greater were there a queue of credible candidates lining up to challenge for the Presidency next year; but there isn’t.

In the meantime, a 2019-2022 budget overview published in the 2017 financial report apportioned $2.32 billion (£1.82 billion/€2.05 billion) for development and education; that amounts to 35.4 per cent of budgeted revenue of $6.56 billion (£5.15 billion/€5.81 billion).

If FIFA’s financial performance were the only thing to consider, the FIFA World Cup would have moved to a two-year cycle long ago.

This is, of course, far from the case.

One likely consequence is that some World Cups would take place in the same calendar year as the other genuinely global sports mega-event, the Summer Olympic Games, with unpredictable results for both.

And then there is UEFA and other continental football confederations; a biennial World Cup would seemingly leave little or no room for the European Football Championship, let alone UEFA’s new Nations League, which has generated a surprisingly positive response since its inception.

UEFA, which may also end up vying with CONMEBOL for the honour of hosting the centenary World Cup in 2030, was reported to be at the forefront of opposition to Infantino’s Club World Cup/global nations league plans last month in Rwanda.

Indeed, part of me wonders if this latest airing of the biennial World Cup idea by a man seen as a close Infantino ally might not be linked to efforts to get the Club World Cup reform through: one way or another, the message could be interpreted as saying, FIFA wants a bigger slice of football’s enviably rich pie.

Both Domínguez and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin are on the seven-member taskforce that will report on the matter in March.

While the Club World Cup desperately needs a reboot, UEFA will be keen to ensure this does not downgrade the Champions League, which is contested by most of the world’s top players and all the wealthiest clubs.

Should the Europeans start to appear isolated, meanwhile, it may become relevant to bear in mind that they are a big, as well as a wealthy, confederation: of 211 associations affiliated to FIFA, they account for 55 of them.

For FIFA statute amendments to be adopted, they need to be approved by three-quarters of associations present and eligible to vote.

Should any competition revamp require such amendments, this means, in effect, that at least some Europeans would have to be willing to vote for them.

It is starting to feel like a showdown is looming.