FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that the organization will consider the possibility of increasing the number of participants in the FIFA World Cup to 64 national teams. He stated this in an interview with Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, reports BBC, writes UNN.
Details
According to Infantino, the issue of expanding the tournament will be considered after the current World Cup, in which 48 teams are participating for the first time.
We will study this issue after the World Cup. It is important that the World Cup is for the whole world, not just for Europe and South America. All countries should have the opportunity to dream of participating in it
Not everyone supports the idea
Infantino believes that increasing the number of participants will contribute to the development of football in countries that previously rarely made it to the World Cup. As an example, he cited the performance of African national teams, nine out of ten of which advanced from the groups in the current tournament.
At the same time, the proposal has already drawn criticism. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin called it a "bad idea" for both the tournament itself and the qualifying process. A similar position was expressed by the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, where they warned that further expansion could negatively impact the international football calendar.
According to BBC, an official proposal to increase the number of participants to 64 national teams was previously put forward by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), suggesting its implementation as early as the 2030 World Cup. The final decision must be made by the FIFA Council.