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Reuters
The International Football Federation (FIFA), to be held Friday in Miami, will vote in the first instance on the adoption of the decision to increase the number of teams participating in the 2022 World Cup. 32 to 48.
The final decision will be taken at the next council meeting in Paris in June, said a source familiar with the matter.
The President of the International Federation of Switzerland, Gianni Infantino, 48, who will be the only candidate to be reelected for a new term of four years, will play the enlargement of the World Cup Clubs to 24 teams.
FIFA's board members were invited to make a decision on the IFRC's feasibility study to support the transition to 48 teams starting with the Qatar World Cup, instead of adopting the 2026 World Cup system in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Thirty board members will decide on "the findings of the feasibility study, which provides for the possibility of organizing the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the number of participants to be increased to 48 if a country neighboring the Gulf hosts a number of matches, "according to a document obtained by AFP. They should then agree to jointly commission the International Federation and Qatar to "submit a proposal to the Council and Congress to increase the number of participants to 48 with one or more host countries," the document added.
However, the final decision to approve the initial vote in Miami will be taken at the next Council meeting in Paris on June 6th.
According to a feasibility study of the International Federation obtained by AFP, the increase in the number of participants will generate "between $ 300 and $ 400 million in additional revenue, of which $ 120 million in television rights, 150 million in marketing rights and $ 90 million in tickets sold.
This decision will increase the number of games from 64 to 80, which will mean that the small Gulf country will not be able to accommodate alone, the matches should therefore take place outside Qatar, in a neighboring country. But a source close to FIFA said: "No country has been appointed." Five countries may apply: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
The current geopolitical situation is not in Qatar's interest because of the diplomatic crisis that pits it against its Gulf neighbors, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain since 2017, as well as Egypt.
Due to the embargo imposed on Qatar by these countries, a study indicates that "the participation of these countries in accommodation with Qatar means the lifting of the embargo, in particular the lifting of restrictions to the movement of persons and goods ".
Source: AFP
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