FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday said that the governing body is "expected to decide in January whether to expand the World Cup" from 32 teams to 48, according to Rory Smith of the N.Y. TIMES. Infantino: "The level of quality of football is increasing all over the world." Smith notes a new format would "almost certainly extend the monthlong tournament to five weeks or more, and would most likely be introduced" for the '26 tournament, which the U.S., Canada and Mexico have "all expressed an interest in hosting" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/14). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Matthew Futterman notes Infantino's "vision for a transformed federation" includes spending more than $4B "during the next decade to grow the game." The plan is a "central part of Infantino’s effort to rescue FIFA from years of scandal." As he attempts to "shift the focus away from FIFA’s turbulent past, Infantino also pledged to change how the World Cup is awarded and operates." He is "pushing for FIFA’s professional staff to eliminate bidders whose proposals don’t meet the technical requirements of the event." His vision also includes "promises of billions of dollars in funding for field construction and soccer programs." Futterman notes the goal of these programs is to "increase worldwide participation in the game to 60% from 45% during the next decade and double the number of female players to 60 million from 30 million." But it is the concept of an expanded World Cup that will "surely dominate the debate of how FIFA conducts its business" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/14). Bundesliga club Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said he is "totally against" the proposal for a bigger World Cup, as it is "complete insanity." He added, "Players are already permanently stretched too thin" (REUTERS, 10/13).
GIANNI COME LATELY: ESPN’s Craig Burley said of Infantino expanding the World Cup, "How about getting his own organization in shape before he does anything else, because they’re in an absolute shambles.” But ESPN’s Adrian Healey said it "just seems inevitable that they are going to expand.” ESPN’s Alejandro Moreno added, “This is nonsense and unnecessary.” ESPN’s Brian McBride: “The World Cup is about prestige. Certainly you want smaller countries to get the opportunity, but that opportunity has to be through play, not by adding extra spots and allowing teams that are mediocre who aren’t going to fare well anyways in the World Cup into a situation that basically waters down the competition" ("ESPN FC," ESPNews, 10/14).
