By Andrew Warshaw
December 13 – Gianni Infantino’s plan to expand the World Cup to either 40 or, more likely, 48 teams has encountered its first major obstacle from within one of its own confederations.
European clubs and leagues have already expressed their opposition to increase the finals from 32 teams but now UEFA – Infantino’s former stamping ground – says it has heard nothing definitive from FIFA and will not vote for change until it knows more.
This week, FIFA suggested a preferred 48-team format of groups of three teams in a letter to FIFA Council members ahead of their January 9-10 meeting in Zurich but UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says he is not comfortable about the way Infantino is pushing through plans to expand the tournament from 2026.
“I read different ideas every day, so it is hard to say which one is the real one, if any,” Ceferin, a FIFA vice president, said with a touch of sarcasm.
Ceferin said the lack of clarity over how FIFA proposes to allocate additional slots to its six confederations was the core of the problem. “When FIFA presents us some serious thing and not just articles and interviews then we can, of course, answer concretely,” said Ceferin, who did not commit UEFA to supporting an increase from the 32-team format used since 1998.
UEFA’s unease about the process suggests FIFA’s aim of a January decision may not happen. Asked if UEFA would back an expanded tournament, Ceferin said: “I am not sure we are getting that way.
“We don’t have much information from FIFA, we mainly read from newspapers about what is supposed to go on… “
Ceferin said he hoped UEFA would get more details when the secretary generals of the continental confederations meet in Tokyo later this month.
“We asked in October for an appropriate analysis to show what it means to extend the World Cup and FIFA didn’t produce it… so without proper information, we can’t say that we will be interested in that kind of World Cup.”
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