Infantino reveals what FIFA is studying regarding the evolution of the World Cup and the role of its neighbors

DUBAI (Reuters) – FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday that the federation plans to increase the number of teams participating in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and to accommodate some Gulf countries for a few matches of the World Cup. 2022.

FIFA voted in 2017 to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams from the start of the 2026 World Cup, but Infantino hopes to apply this principle as early as 2022.

"If the participation of 48 teams at the World Cup is a good thing, we will not try it in four years," said Infantino at a meeting at the International Sport Conference in Dubai. We are therefore studying the possibility of bringing together 48 teams at the 2022 World Cup. "He said.

"If we manage to welcome Qatar's neighbors in the Gulf and close to them during a few matches of the World Cup, this could be very useful for the region and the world," he said.

"There are tensions in this region and it is up to their leaders to manage them, but it may be easier to talk about a common football project than to talk about complicated things," he said. he declares.

"If this can help the Gulf peoples and all the countries of the world to develop football and to send a positive message to the world about football, we should try."