There is a
plan afoot to change the footballing landscape from FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The first steps for his changes could take place
in Miami this week at the meeting of the FIFA Council, but final approval will
be needed next June at the governing body's congress, which could also see the
Swiss remain as the head of FIFA.
One of the first issues to deal with in Florida
will be extending the Qatar World Cup to 48 national teams.
His plan is to reach more countries and more
fans, even if their chances for success will be remote when it comes to
competing against the game's bigger powers.
He wants them to enjoy everything that goes with
participation in a tournament as special as the World Cup and believes it is
the best way to promote the sport.
Changes in Qatar 2022
A 48-team World Cup is scheduled for the 2026
edition, but Infantino maintains
that the structure of the next World Cup could support the calendar moving from
64 to 80 games.
It would also guarantee additional revenue of
between 265 and 350 million euros, of which 100m euros would be related to
television rights, 130m euros in marketing rights and 80m euros in ticket
sales.
Another obstacle lies in the blockade imposed by
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Qatar since the increase in teams
would mean that other games would have to be disputed in some nearby countries,
something that is impossible at the moment.
UEFA say no
UEFA and Aleksander
Ceferin have continued to express their opposition to
FIFA's reforms.
They are convinced that the meeting in Miami
will not have voters agree and everything will be open to what happens in Paris
in June.
They oppose both the Club World Cup changes and
the creation of a global League of Nations, a copy of the one created by UEFA.
Club World Cup
FIFA's president also intends to create a Club
World Cup of 24 teams that would take the place of the Confederations Cup and
would start in 2021, a principle supported by an investment of 20 billion
euros.
League of Nations
The rest of the confederations seem to support
the Club World Cup plan, but a global league is something that is also being met
with opposition from the European confederation.
They aren't happy with Infantino's plan to bring more competitive
games to FIFA at the expense of their own teams and associations.
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