FIFA abandon 48-team plan for 2022 World Cup
FIFA announced that the 2022 World Cup will include 32 teams as the plan to increase the competition to 48 teams fell through.
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FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, expressed his desire to increase the FIFA World Cup from 32 to 48 teams starting from the 2022 edition in Qatar. Last year, FIFA approved the increase to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, however Infantino wanted to increase the number of teams for the event in Qatar.
There were many difficulties with implementing this switch as Qatar could not host the extra games and two other countries were sought out to co-host the event. With political turmoil in the region, some countries refused to host matches (Saudi Arabia and UAE) while countries willing to help out, do not have the facilities to support an event like the World Cup.
As a result, FIFA have abandoned the change and the 2022 World Cup will be contested by 32 teams. FIFA released a statement regarding their decision:
“In line with the conclusions of the feasibility study approved by the FIFA Council at its last meeting, FIFA and Qatar have jointly explored all possibilities to increase the number of participant teams from 32 to 48 teams by involving neighbouring countries at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
Following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that under the current circumstances such a proposal could not be made now.
Additionally, FIFA and Qatar have once again explored the feasibility of Qatar hosting a 48-team tournament by in particular lowering certain key FIFA requirements. A joint analysis, in this respect, concluded that due to the advanced stage of preparations and the need for a detailed assessment of the potential logistical impact on the host country, more time would be required and a decision could not be taken before the deadline of June. It was therefore decided not to further pursue this option.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will therefore remain as originally planned with 32 teams and no proposal will be submitted at the next FIFA Congress on 5 June.”
Appointing Qatar as the host nation for the 2022 World Cup was a highly controversial decision by FIFA. The summer’s extremely unbearable high temperatures in the region forced FIFA to move the World Cup to December for the first time in the competition’s history.
