Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams "will enhance North America's credentials in the 2026 bidding contest, CONCACAF hopes," according to the AP. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has unveiled plans to increase the number of teams at the tournament by 16, "which would reduce the pool of countries with sufficient infrastructure to host the finals." CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani said, "From a 2026 perspective, pick a number [of finalists] and North American can handle it. A CONCACAF bid would be strong regardless of what number we finally set on." The World Cup was last staged in the CONCACAF region by the U.S. in '94. The Americans are "keen on hosting again" in '26, potentially linking up with neighbors Canada and Mexico. Montagliani: "Is there an opportunity to combine the three countries? Perhaps. We don't know that yet. There have been zero formal discussions. We are not there yet." With Africa, South America, Europe and Asia hosting the World Cups between '10 and '22, it had been "widely accepted that it should be North America's turn for the first time" since '94. FIFA's statutes "currently prevent consecutive World Cups being staged on the same continent, but China could yet seek to follow 2022 hosts Qatar." Chinese conglomerate Wanda signed up as a top-tier FIFA sponsor in March saying it wanted to be "better placed" to help decide where future editions of the World Cup are awarded. Referring to Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympics between the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Beijing, Montagliani said, "There has to be some sort of rotation or else you look what is happening with the Olympics. I don't think it's a good thing that it keeps on going to one area" (AP, 10/5).
