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Bookmakers unsure about FIFA's 48-team World Cup plan

2026 world cup 48 team fifa world cup

2017-01-18 15:00:40

January 18th, 2017

Bookmakers appear tepid on the prospect of an enlarged 48-team FIFA World Cup for 2026. Last week, the FIFA Council voted unanimously in favour of President Gianni Infantino’s expanded 48 team format, which drew criticism from multiple football stakeholders.

At present, the expanded 48-team tournament will see an opening stage of 16 groups of three teams, with the top two teams progressing to an enlarged 32-team knockout round, adding an additional round of ‘knockouts’ to the existing World Cup format.

Stating his case for expansion, Infantino detailed that a 50% enlarged World Cup would generate new audiences and expected higher revenues for FIFA members. At a game level, Infantino and expansion supporters detailed that the ‘extra round of knockouts’ would generate ‘more exciting football’ for spectators.