FIFA has "scrapped plans to expand" the '22 World Cup in Qatar to 48 countries, deciding instead to "stick with 32 countries due to the political and logistical complexities of using another Persian Gulf nation" as a co-host for an expanded tournament, according to Rob Harris of the AP. FIFA President Gianni Infantino's hopes of expanding the tournament pool were "stymied by the regional diplomatic crisis and the governing body's demands on host nations to adhere to its human and labor rights requirements." This means the earliest the World Cup could expand would be in '26, with FIFA "already having approved a format with 48 teams" for the tournament hosted in North America. A FIFA internal report "already concluded that the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia could not join as co-hosts unless they restore the economic and travel ties with Qatar that were severed two years ago." FIFA has now "concluded that it lacked the time to prepare a country to host the extra games" that would come as a result of an expanded field (AP, 5/22). In N.Y., Tariq Panja noted Qatar had "made clear its reservations about its ability to accommodate an expanded event." Neighboring country Oman recently said that it "could not prepare itself in time" to help host extra games (N.Y. TIMES, 5/23).
