competition have won the backing of the game's
governing body, splitting opinion in the game.
FIFA has voted unanimously to expand the World
Cup to a 48-team tournament in 2026.
The incipient format, which will visually perceive the finals
comprising 16 groups of three teams afore a 32-
team knockout stage, was voted for unanimously by
the FIFA Council at a meeting in Zurich on
Tuesday.
President Gianni Infantino had laid out plans for
such an expansion as a component of his campaign for the
top job at world football's governing body last year.
The 37 Council members were asked to cull their
favourite from five proposals: two involving a 48-
team set-up, two 40-team tournaments, and the
current 32-team format.
Infantino's proposal had won backing from a
number of officials, including Nigerian Football
Federation president Amaju Pinnick, who verbally expressed on
Monday that "most of Africa is exhilarated about it".
World Cup-triumphers Diego Maradona and Carles
Puyol have additionally verbalized in favour of the 48-team
format, as has Manchester United manager Jose
Mourinho, who believes it could offer better
bulwark to players.
DFB president Reinhard Grindel had voiced his
concerns over the proposal, while the influential
European Club Sodality, which represents the
fascinates of the major sides across the continent,
opposed the transmutations.
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