"Fifa's official position is that it will discuss World Cup expansion with all its stakeholders, and that it is duty-bound to consider proposals raised at council. But behind the scenes there is scepticism about whether expanding the tournament to 64 teams is a viable proposition. Next year's World Cup will be the first to contain 48 teams, while the governing body has already broken with convention for 2030 by staging the tournament across six countries in three different continents."
"Any decision to expand the World Cup would be taken Fifa Council, which meets in Zurich next month, with World Cup expansion not on the agenda. Gianni would not get that vote through Council even if he wanted to, a Fifa source told the Guardian. The overwhelming feeling around the table and not just in Europe is that 64 teams would damage the World Cup. There'd be too many uncompetitive matches and it would risk damaging the business model."
FIFA is not planning to expand the men's World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 centenary edition, despite meetings between president Gianni Infantino and South American leaders. Infantino met Uruguayan and Paraguayan heads of state, CONMEBOL's president, and national federation presidents at FIFA's Trump Tower offices to begin formal talks about a proposal raised informally by the Uruguayan Football Association. FIFA says it will consider proposals with stakeholders and council duty. Officials express scepticism about a 64-team format, citing uncompetitive matches, harm to the business model, and doubts about viability. Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina seek hosting roles while the bulk of 2030 will be staged across multiple countries.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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