FIFA president Gianni Infantino has described talks about the likely expansion of the World Cup from 2026 as “positive” but said more work needs to be done before a decision is made in January.
Infantino was speaking to journalists via a conference call after the first day of a two-day meeting of the FIFA Council in Zurich.
And while the 46-year-old did not want to give away too many details, it is clear the days of a 32-team format are numbered and his personal preference remains expanding the tournament to 48 teams, not the initially proposed 40.
“The general feeling was that it was positive that we were discussing this issue but before a decision is taken we need to do more analysis and home work,” said Infantino.
“We have some examples to look at - like the recent expansion of the Euros - but whether it will be 40 or 48 we’ll have to see at the next meeting in January.”
The Swiss-Italian dual national said no votes were taken in yesterday’s session but he felt the majority of the council’s 32 members agreed with him that inviting more teams to the finals would be “beneficial to the game’s development”.
Speaking about the months before a World Cup, Infantino contrasted the mood in a nation that has qualified for the tournament with one that has not, explaining that one was a land of excitement and potential for football’s growth, while the other was in mourning.
He also rejected the idea that expansion would lead to a dilution in quality, pointing out that Costa Rica progressed instead of England and Italy at the last World Cup, and he claimed a 48-team tournament with an opening knock-out round between 32 unseeded teams would result in “higher quality”.
When asked if leaving the tournament alone was an option, Infantino rather mumbled, saying there was no need to discuss a 32-team tournament as everybody understands it already.
What Infantino really wanted to talk about, however, was the progress FIFA has made under his watch this year as it tries to rebuild its reputation after a 2015 dominated by scandal.
FIFA reforms
With secretary general Fatma Samoura – the first African and first woman to hold what is effectively the number two role at FIFA – also on the line, the pair tried to focus attention on the reforms the organisation has made and the further changes to come.
Infantino said there were five main areas “where FIFA faced issues, real or perceived” and they were the organisation and hosting of World Cups, the distribution of development grants, commercial contracts, staff remuneration and FIFA’s general costs.
In all these areas, Infantino claimed significant progress has been made, with the overwhelming message being that his FIFA will take more “control” of the money it generates through its competitions.
This idea of control can be seen in moves to take ticketing for World Cups more ‘in-house’ after 2018, more scrutiny of the local organising committees, tighter technical requirements for bidding countries, more oversight of commercial activities and greater accountability for development grants.
Infantino and Samoura are also keen to highlight the new spirit of transparency at FIFA’s Swiss headquarters, as contracts are vetted by professional staff, salaries are agreed by independent committees and published, and expenses reined in.