The FIFA Council has
unanimously decided in favour of expanding the FIFA World Cup™ to a
48-team competition as of the 2026 edition.
World football’s
supervisory and strategic body held its third meeting at the Home of
FIFA in Zurich on 9 and 10 January, and decided on a new tournament
format with the 48 national teams split into 16 groups of three. The top
two teams from each group will then advance to a 32-team knockout
stage.
The new 48-team competition format has been drawn
up in such a way that there is no reduction in the overall number of
rest days and a guaranteed maximum of seven matches for the teams
reaching the final, while the current 32-day tournament duration is
kept, so as not to increase the length of time for which clubs have to
release their players.
The decision was
taken following a thorough analysis, based on a report that included
four different format options. The study took into account such factors
as sporting balance, competition quality, impact on football
development, infrastructure, projections on financial position and the
consequences for event delivery. Over the course of its next meetings,
the FIFA Council is set to discuss further details regarding the
competition, including the slot allocation per confederation.
At its most
recent meeting in October 2016, the FIFA Council had already discussed
the scenarios to expand the competition format of the FIFA World Cup. By
then, it had also defined a set of principles for countries to bid for
the right to host the 2026 edition – a process that is currently
scheduled to culminate in May 2020.
The first day of the FIFA
Council meeting saw the members split into five working groups dedicated
to specific themes: women’s football, technical development,
competitions, commercial matters and legal and corporate structures.
On
10 January, as well as deciding on the expanded format, the Council
agreed on a set of key dates related to the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ :
· 14 May 2018: Deadline for participating member associations to release a list of 30 players;
·
20 May 2018: Recommended final day of club competitions, with
the exception of the UEFA Champions League final. Special exemptions may
only be granted by the FIFA Council;
· 21-27 May 2018: Official rest period to be respected by clubs and participating member associations;
· 28 May 2018: Start of the release period for all participating member associations;
· 4 June 2018: Submission of final list of 23 players.
The Council also approved the early adoption of the IFRS15 standard in FIFA’s financial reports.
Furthermore,
as part of the ongoing consultation process, the composition of the new
committees has been decided and will be communicated once the
respective members have been informed.
The next meeting of the FIFA Council is scheduled to be held in Manama, Bahrain, on 9 May 2017 ahead of the 67th FIFA Congress.
from m.fifa.com