President of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino announced on Thursday at a meeting in Qatar that the vast majority of world football federations support the idea of allowing 48 teams to participate in the 2022 World Cup.
In this year's World Cup held in Russia, 32 teams competed. However, FIFA has long announced plans to increase the number of teams to 48 starting from 2026.
It seems that the implementation of these ideas will begin as early as the World Cup in Qatar in four years.
"We have listened to our members and national federations. So far, most countries support increasing the number of teams. This would mean that 16 additional teams could enter the World Cup, and about 50-60 countries will have the opportunity to pursue this dream. Whether this is possible is another question," said the FIFA president.
Infantino believes that neighboring countries can help Qatar accommodate the 48 teams for the future World Cup: "Maybe some matches could take place in neighboring countries? This is one of the options. Of course, we follow what is happening in the world and check the news, but football is not politics and football sometimes turns dreams into reality."
During the meeting in Doha, Infantino emphasized that the final decision must be made by next March.
