FIFA Expansion, World Cup Changes, and Controversies

Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, is talking about expanding football’s global governing body. He says they will look at making the men's World Cup 64-team after the current tournament wraps up. That’s the one happening in 2026. Canada, Mexico, and the United States are hosting that edition, and it’s already set for 48 teams right now.
“These are all issues we will be examining,” Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport. He was instrumental in bumping the tournament from 32 to 48 teams. But he didn't give any more specifics on what comes next.
He felt it was important, he argued, that when organizing a World Cup, you have to think about the whole world. Not just Europe or South America. Everyone should be able to dream of playing. The quality of the teams is getting higher everywhere. If smaller nations don't get a chance, they won't have the drive to keep improving.
That expanded format got some pushback when it first came up, but that noise seems to have quieted down since the tournament started in June. Infantino claims this change actually worked out for things. He points to how competitive everything was. Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals. Nine out of ten African teams made it to the knockout stage. That’s a big shift. Last time, only five teams were from Africa. It shows you need to include everyone. Give them that chance.
Then there's the hydration breaks they talked about. A lot of people argued about those stoppages during the halves. Some felt it was just a way for broadcasters to get more ads. Infantino addressed this too. He said it sparks a ton of debate. We don’t need everything perfect. We like people to disaGree, right?
Joking aside though. Last year in the USA, they had cooling breaks when it got really hot.
The complaints were real. Some felt all teams should have the same conditions. It was uneven. About sixty percent of matches got these short breaks, but not the other forty percent because the heat wasn't as intense there. A lot of complaints piled up about that difference.
Ticket prices are another huge talking point throughout this whole thing. But Infantino defends them by pointing to attendance numbers. The stadiums are packed. Capacity usage is hitting 99.7%, maybe even 99.9% at the end. Experts set those prices before the tournament started, they said. They told FIFA what the market could handle. Now look: people who thought the tickets were too expensive are reselling them for four or five times the original cost on the secondary market. That’s legal, they say, but it shows a gap.
FIFA is expecting massive revenue from this 39-day event. They reckon between 13 and 14 billion Swiss francs that's about $16 to $17 billion. Infantino called that satisfactory. A big number for football money, certainly.
Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board
Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.
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