Plans to expand the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams have been
abandoned by Fifa.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said last year the expansion
from 32 teams could be brought forward from 2026 to the 2022 tournament in
Qatar.
The change would have required Qatar to share hosting duties
with other countries in the region.
World football’s governing body said after a “thorough and
comprehensive consultation process” the change “could not be made now”.
Fifa also said it explored the possibility of Qatar hosting
a 48-team tournament on its own but has decided not to pursue those plans as
there was not enough time “for a detailed assessment of the potential
logistical impact”.
In a statement, Qatari World Cup organisers said: “Qatar had
always been open to the idea of an expanded tournament in 2022 had a viable
operating model been found and had all parties concluded that an expanded
48-team edition was in the best interest of football and Qatar as the host
nation.
“With just three and a half years to go until kick off,
Qatar remains as committed as ever to ensuring the 32-team Fifa World Cup in
2022 is one of the best tournaments ever and one that makes the entire Arab
world proud.”
In November, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said adding
16 teams to Qatar 2022 could create “many problems” and described the idea as
“quite unrealistic”.
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