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FIFA's
ruling council on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of the World Cup to
48 teams in 2026, with a format of 16 groups of three nations.
"The FIFA Council unanimously
decided on a 48-team as of 2026: 16 groups of 3 teams," a tweet from FIFA's official account said.
The decision marks a major coup for
the body's president Gianni Infantino who has made enlarging football's
showcase event the centrepiece of his young administration.
The controversial proposal has faced
criticism from some of the sport's most powerful voices, including warnings
that it would dilute the quality of play and overburden already exhausted
players.
But Infantino had in recent weeks
voiced confidence that his flagship project would be approved.
While noting that a bigger
tournament would bring in more money, the FIFA chief has also argued that more
World Cup berths would help drive football's global growth.
Africa and Asia could be the big winners in a larger format
with a rise in their number of places, currently at 5 and 4.5 respectively.
But in order to smooth over
scepticism about World Cup reform within UEFA, it is likely that Europe
will also see its allotments rise above the current 13 places.
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