{"id":2476,"date":"2017-01-17T11:50:46","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T11:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blnebeuk.serveur04.com\/blog\/?p=2476"},"modified":"2017-01-17T11:50:46","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T11:50:46","slug":"48-team-world-cup-how-would-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.netbet.co.uk\/blog\/2017\/01\/17\/48-team-world-cup-how-would-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"48 team World Cup: How would it work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

\"10-01-2017
\nFIFA members approved Gianni Infantino\u2019s proposal to expand the World Cup, starting with the 2026 edition, but how will it work and who will benefit?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first time since France \u201898 that changes have been made to the composition of a tournament that started with just 13 teams in 1930. Here\u2019s what you need to know about the new format of world football\u2019s showpiece event.<\/p>\n

What has happened to the World Cup?<\/h2>\n

Next year\u2019s tournament in Russia is still going ahead as a 32-team tournament, as is 2022, but in 2026, the format will change and 48 countries will take part in the World Cup, or if you\u2019re into percentages, 23% of FIFA registered nations.<\/p>\n

How will the new format work?<\/h2>\n

There were four different options available to expand the World Cup, but delegates voted overwhelmingly for Gianni Infantino\u2019s preference for 48 teams in 16 groups of three, followed by a 32-team knockout stage.<\/p>\n

The format will increase the number of games from 64 to 80 and the tournament will be completed inside the current 32-day schedule.<\/p>\n

Why did FIFA want change?<\/h2>\n

Infantino said that his main motivation for expanding the tournament is to provide more nations a chance of experiencing a World Cup and to grow and develop football.<\/p>\n

Critics argue however that the expansion was driven by money, greed and assurances of future votes. FIFA predict that revenue could rise to \u00a35.3 billion under the 48-team format, as opposed to the \u00a34.5 billion for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.<\/p>\n

Who stands to benefit?<\/h2>\n

African nations are set to benefit with an extra four qualifying places and there are likely to be six South American teams who automatically qualify. It is expected that there\u2019ll be an additional three European teams participating in the new format.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s for and who\u2019s against?<\/h2>\n

The English FA voted in favour of the expansion, unsurprising considering David Gill\u2019s prominent role at FIFA, while the Scottish FA also supported the decision.<\/p>\n

However, the plans weren\u2019t met with universal acclaim, with the European Club Association heavily criticising the decision, basing it on \u201cpolitical reasons rather than sporting ones\u201d, while Spain\u2019s La Liga said that they weren\u2019t consulted on the plans. Germany were the sole critics of the World Cup reform amongst European football nations.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s still to be decided?<\/h2>\n

There are rumours that penalty shootouts could be brought in to decide all drawn games, therefore reducing the risk of teams colluding in their final games.<\/p>\n

The other decision is which nation will host the event. The expansion is likely to exclude a vast number of countries, so any suitors would either have to co-host the competition or have the relevant infrastructure already in place.<\/p>\n

Words by @dominictrant<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FIFA members approved Gianni Infantino\u2019s proposal to expand the World Cup, starting with the 2026 edition, but how will it work and who will benefit? It\u2019s the first time since France \u201898 that changes have been made to the composition of a tournament that started with just 13 teams in 1930. Here\u2019s what you need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[876,877,798,875,52,439],"class_list":["post-2476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-876","tag-48-teams","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-football","tag-world-cup"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFootball: 48 team Fifa World Cup: How would it work?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"FIFA members approved Gianni Infantino\u2019s proposal to expand the World Cup, starting with the 2026 edition, but how will it work and who will benefit?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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