Most football associations support 48-team World Cup in Qatar - FIFA chief

MARRAKECH (Reuters) - Most football associations in the world back increasing the size of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to 48 teams from 32, with some matches to be played in neighbouring countries, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday.

Most football associations support 48-team World Cup in Qatar - FIFA chief

(Reuters)





Infantino told a news conference the Qataris were open to the larger format. FIFA would make a decision no later than June, once a feasibility study is over, he said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar in June 2017 that has complicated the prospect of sharing the tournament.

The countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it denies.

"We are doing football not politics," Infantino said.

FIFA voted in 2017 to increase the size of the tournament to 48 teams starting from 2026 but, since then, Infantino has been considering the possibility of bringing the change forward to 2022.

"Most football association across the globe hope for opening up the World Cup to more teams," he said, lamenting that continental champions such as Cameroon, Chile and the United States were absent from last year's World Cup after failing to qualify.

"If it is possible to organise a 48-team World Cup in Qatar with some games in neighbouring countries, that will be great," he said.

Infantino said it was "premature" to speak of a planned joint bid from Spain, Portugal and Morocco for the 2030 World Cup, which would be the first time countries from different continents had applied to stage the tournament.

"I welcome all bids. The more the better," he said.

Infantino was speaking following a FIFA executive summit in Marrakech which brought together some 60 football associations.





(Editing by Peter Graff)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Most football associations support 48-team World Cup in Qatar - FIFA chief | SBS News