Media revealed Infantino plans to increase the number of participants of the World Cup to 64

The President of the International football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino has decided to temporarily suspend the initiative to increase the number of participants of the world Cup from 48 to 64 teams amid increased criticism, reports The Times.

According to the source, this step of the head of FIFA is directly related to the upcoming elections of the head of the organization, which are scheduled for March 2027 and will be held within the framework of the congress in Morocco. Earlier, Infantino himself publicly expressed his intention to run for a new term.

It is worth noting that in 2026, the world football forum was held for the first time in the format of 48 national teams and was held on the territory of three countries at once: the United States, Canada and Mexico. The competition ended on July 19, and in the decisive match, Spain, scoring the only goal in extra time, defeated the Argentine team and became the owner of the main trophy.

Back in July, Gianni Infantino described the expansion of the tournament format as a major achievement, stressing that the right to dream of participating in the world championship should be in all regions of the world, not exclusively in Europe and South America. At the same time, according to the results of the World Cup, the governing bodies of the organization plan to begin a substantive discussion of the possibility of further increasing the quota of participants to 64 teams.

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