Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, gave an interview this Sunday to the Swiss television channel Blue Sport where he opened the door to a new expansion of participating teams in the World Cup. The Swiss official assured that it is “a matter that will be examined after this World Cup.” It is worth remembering that in this edition, held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the number of national teams was already expanded to 48, 16 more teams than in previous editions.
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“I think it is important that, when organizing a World Cup, it is done for the whole world, not just for Europe and South America, but indeed for the whole world,” Infantino defended on Swiss television. “If smaller countries are not given the opportunity to participate in the World Cup, they will lack the incentive to keep improving,” added the FIFA chief.
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At the same time, Infantino gave a positive assessment of the championship with 48 teams: “All teams played at a high level. Teams from all continents scored goals and earned at least one point. Nine out of ten African teams reached the knockout stage. In the last World Cup, there were only five African teams. This shows how important it is to include all teams, to give them this opportunity to participate.”
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The number of participants in the World Cup was expanded to 32 teams in 1998. The next final phase, in 2030, will be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, and the 2034 tournament will be held in Saudi Arabia.
The FIFA president also took the opportunity to defend the two hydration breaks that are taking place in each World Cup match, where advertising is shown: “This is a topic that generates a lot of debate (…). Last year, during the Club World Cup in the United States, there were cooling breaks whenever it was very hot. These brief breaks occurred in approximately 60% of the matches, but not in the remaining 40% because the temperature was not that high. There were many complaints, as it was considered that all teams should face the same conditions.”
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