World Cup: FIFA To Increase Number Of Teams To 48

The 46-year-old Swiss, who succeeded Sepp Blatter earlier this year, made this revelation while speaking at an event at the Sergio Arboleda University in Bogota Colombia, with a final decision to be reached by the FIFA council in January 2017.

Part of Infantino’s proposals in his presidential proposal was to increase the number of teams competing in World Cups to 40 after Qatar 2022.

Under the new format, the 16 countries that finish highest in qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup would automatically make the group stage of the global football showcase, Infantino said.

The proposal would see a playoff round added prior to the group stages, with the 16 defeated nations going home after playing just one match.

From then on, the remaining 32 teams would progress through the tournament as usual.

“The idea is that 16 teams would qualify directly to the group stage and the other 32 would play in a preliminary phase, in the country where the World Cup is being played,” Infantino told reporters at an event in Bogota, Colombia.

“They would play for the remaining 16 places. It means we continue with a normal World Cup for 32 teams, but 48 teams go to the party.

“These are ideas to find the best solution. We will debate them this month and we will decide everything by 2017,” Infantino continued. “They are ideas which we put forward to see which one is the best.

“FIFA’s idea is to develop football in the whole world, and the World Cup is the biggest event there is,” he said. “It’s more than a competition, it’s a social event.

Infantino’s expansion plan has been met with criticism, with many believing the idea would place a greater burden on the host nation who would have to provide increased accomodation, security and other infrastructure.

The World Cup was last expanded from 24 to 32 teams in 1994.