July 30 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has re-iterated that any expansion of the World Cup finals beyond the current 32 teams would be impractical and may reduce quality of play.
Last year, UEFA boss Michel Platini suggested that expanding the tournament to 40 teams would be one solution to finding a compromise to pacify Continents seeking greater representation.
But with the success of Brazil still fresh in the mind, Blatter has made it clear that 32 teams remains the best option.
The quality of the tournament “serves to emphasise that we are right about the format of the tournament and the number of participating teams,” Blatter wrote in The Fifa Weekly, the organisation’s in-house publication. “It is understandable that certain confederations are appealing for the field to be expanded. But this would be the wrong route. If a product is already of the highest calibre you should not change it.”
Blatter’s remarks will doubtless be viewed in some quarters as the latest example of trying to influence public opinion in the build-up to what could well be a two-horse race for the top job in world football at the May, 2015, presidential election. The veteran Swiss present incumbent has already made public his intention to put his name forward for a fifth term while Platini is expected to make his position clear at or around next month’s Champions League draw in Monaco.
Blatter insists FIFA has always been prepared to move with the times, pointing out that the World Cup has already been expanded twice before. “But a limit has been reached,” he wrote, stressing the event would itself have to be extended.
Thirty-two teams, he said, “guarantees high standards and relative competitiveness. The value in qualifying will only be maintained if we keep the current format. Thirty-two teams remains the golden number for the World Cup finals.”
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