Kolkata: The council of the global governing body for football declared today that the 2026 World Cup would comprise of 48 teams with 16 groups of 3 countries each.
This is what the tweet from FIFA’s official account read, ”
The FIFA Council unanimously decided on a 48-team #WorldCup as of 2026: 16 groups of 3 teams,”
This decision can be seen as an excellent as well as important manouvre on FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s part considering the fact the Infantino has looked to expand football since his appointment as the head of FIFA.
However this decision of expansion by Infantino did not get away without criticism.
The European Club Association ( ECA) felt that the FIFA had taken a rather political decision than a sporting one. It said in a statement, ” We fail to see the merits to changing the current format of 32 that has proven to be the perfect formula from all perspectives,”
“Questionable is also the urgency in reaching such an important decision, with nine years to go until it becomes applicable, without the proper involvement of stakeholders who will be impacted by this change.
“ECA will analyse in detail the impact and the consequences of the new format and will address the matter at the next meeting of its executive board, scheduled for the end of January.”
Also, there were more who weren’t supportive of this decision of expansion.
New FIFA Now, a campaign group said that the decision of expansion is ,”a money grab and power grab”. It went on to say that the level of competition and the enjoyment of the fans would fall.
It said in a statement, “It will dilute the competitiveness of the tournament and, therefore, the enjoyment of fans,”
“It will not help development of the game or provide improved competitive opportunities for lower-ranked nations. Instead, it will make a mockery of the qualification process for most confederations.”
Many have supported this decision like the Cheif Secretary of the Scottish Football Association who has said that this decision is a “positive step, particularly for the smaller nations”.
The UEFA, Europe’s governing body of football said, “It was clear that all other confederations were overwhelmingly in favour of expanding the Fifa World Cup to 48 teams. As a result, Uefa decided to join in supporting the new format of the competition.”
“Uefa is satisfied that it succeeded in postponing the final decision regarding the slot allocation of every confederation in the future format of the Fifa World Cup.
“We would also like to state that we are happy that the new proposed length and format of the tournament does not increase the burden on players. We will also ensure that clubs’ interests will continue to be protected.”
Gianni Infantino however argued that the World Cup had to be ,” more inclusive”.
At a news conference after the announcement, he said,
“We are in the 21st century and we have to shape the football World Cup of the 21st century,”
“It is the future. Football is more than just Europe and South America, football is global.
“The football fever you have in a country that qualifies for the World Cup is the biggest promotional tool for football you can have.
“This football promotion, in many parts of the world where today they have no chance to play [at the World Cup], was at the top of our thoughts.”
Infantino’s decision has been supported by FIFA’S own research the revenue is said to increase by £ 5.29 billion, for an expanded 48- team tournament, increasing the profits by £ 521 billion.
The decision on who will get that extra qualification slot was yet undecided but Infantino said that it, “will be looked at speedily”.
“No guarantees have been made. The only sure thing is that everyone will have a bit more [representation] than they have today.”
(With inputs from AFP and portal www.bbc.com)