DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan /Sports

FIFA eyes expanding World Cup to 64 teams

From 24.kg · () Russian

Translated from Russian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • FIFA is considering expanding the Men's World Cup to 64 teams.
  • FIFA President Gianni Infantino believes increasing participation will foster global development and give more countries a chance to compete.
  • Infantino cited the success of the 48-team tournament in the US, noting increased representation from Africa as evidence of the positive impact of expansion.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is exploring the possibility of increasing the number of participating teams in the Men's World Cup to 64.

It is important to organize the World Cup not just for Europe and South America, but for the whole world. All countries should have the opportunity to dream of participating in the World Cup without exception.

— Gianni InfantinoExplaining his rationale for considering an expanded World Cup.

Infantino explained that the expansion is driven by a desire to make the tournament a truly global event. "It is important to organize the World Cup not just for Europe and South America, but for the whole world," he stated. He believes that allowing all countries to dream of participating in the World Cup is crucial for their development.

We see that the quality of the national teams is incredibly high and is growing more and more all over the world. If we don't give small countries the opportunity to participate in the World Cups, they will have no incentive to develop.

— Gianni InfantinoHighlighting the developmental impact of World Cup participation for smaller nations.

"We see that the quality of the national teams is incredibly high and is growing more and more all over the world," Infantino said. "If we don't give small countries the opportunity to participate in the World Cups, they will have no incentive to develop." He pointed to the recent World Cup, which featured 48 teams for the first time in history, as a "great success." As proof, he highlighted that nine out of ten African teams advanced from their groups, a significant increase from the five African teams in the previous tournament.

The World Cup with 48 teams, the first in history, was a great success.

— Gianni InfantinoAssessing the success of the recently concluded 48-team tournament.

The FIFA Council already approved increasing the number of World Cup participants from 32 to 48 in 2017. Infantino's current consideration suggests a potential further expansion, emphasizing the organization's commitment to broader global inclusion in the sport's premier event.

In the previous World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. This shows how important it is to include them in the competition to give all national teams the opportunity to participate.

— Gianni InfantinoComparing African representation in past World Cups to illustrate the benefits of expansion.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by 24.kg in Russian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog