FIFA continues studying a 48 teams Qatar 2022 World Cup
President Gianni Infantino said FIFA keeps studying the possibility to have 48 teams at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, announcing an expansion for the Club World Cup's considered.
Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, said Wednesday that the organization keeps studying the possibility of expanding the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, admitting that the task presents to be a difficult one as it will be hard to make such a tournament just in Qatar.
Infantino mentions that the decision must be reached before June because the qualifying stage will start after that.
"The decision to go to 48 for the 2026 World Cup is already taken, so why not try and see if it's possible for 2022? it won't be easy because Qatar it's a small country but will see if it is possible to host some games in nearby countries" Infantino said at FIFA Football Executive Summit held in Rome.
The FIFA president knows this is an ambitious and complicated project, because of infrastructure such as geographical issues, but considers that expanding the number of participants would be an occasion to promote the Arab world.
Club World Cup expansion
Infantino took the opportunity to also defended his proposal to expand the Club World Cup and the global version of the Nations' League.
"We will continue discussing it with everyone; it's not just about UEFA, it's about 211 national associations. So we're going to discuss this further as it is time for FIFA to expand. If once every four years or so, there is a chance to hold a Club World Cup with players and teams around the world without affecting the leagues' calendar, why would that be a bad thing; at least let's talk about it," Infantino resolved.