FIFA is looking at a surprise proposal from South American soccer to expand the men’s 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams — double the size of the 2022 edition in Qatar.
“A proposal to analyze a 64-team FIFA World Cup to celebrate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup in 2030 was spontaneously raised by a FIFA Council member in the ‘miscellaneous’ agenda item near the end of the FIFA Council meeting,” soccer’s governing body said on Thursday, one day after the meeting.
“The idea was acknowledged as FIFA has a duty to analyze any proposal from one of its council members,” FIFA said about the remote online meeting.
Photo: Reuters
It was suggested by the elected delegate from Uruguay, Ignacio Alonso, two people familiar with the move told reporters.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussion was confidential.
Uruguay was the original World Cup host — and trophy winner — in 1930 and is scheduled to host one game at the centenary tournament.
The first 48-team tournament is to be played next year in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The 2030 World Cup is already set to be the most sprawling edition, with six host nations spread across three continents.
South American soccer body CONMEBOL in 2023 agreed to a FIFA-backed plan for Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to have one game each to open the tournament before it moves to the main cohosts Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
FIFA gave all six hosts automatic places in the tournament lineup and the deal was seen as a win in soccer politics for CONMEBOL’s Paraguayan president Alejandro Dominguez.
Expanding to 64 teams likely would guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL member countries a place in a bigger tournament.
Venezuela are the only team from the region who have never qualified for a World Cup.
Having 64 teams if FIFA approves the move should create a tournament of 128 games.
FIFA gave no timetable for a review of the proposal and possible decision.
Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, is to host the next FIFA Congress of 211 member federation in May.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS