A 48-team World Cup? Here's how it would work.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino seems to think bigger is indeed better.
Speaking Monday in Bogota, Colombia, Infantino outlined his vision for a 48-team World Cup beginning in 2026, according to multiple reports.
That would expand the tournament's current 32-team field by half -- but Infantino could make even more changes.
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Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams would mean "more countries and regions all over the world would be happy," Infantino said Monday, according to the Associated Press.
It would also create an 80-match World Cup, as opposed to what is now a 64-match tournament -- which would in turn make broadcast and marketing deals for the once-every-four-year event even more lucrative. The Associated Press reports the 2014 World Cup in Brazil earned about $5 billion for FIFA.
Infantino was elected as FIFA president earlier this year. He succeeds the notorious Sepp Blatter, whose reign was marred by corruption, kickbacks and bribery scandals.
In Bogota on Monday, Infantino outlined how the World Cup would work with a 48-team field. Sixteen teams would automatically qualify for the group stage, according to Reuters. Then 32 teams would play single-elimination matches. The 16 winners of those single-elimination matches would then combine with the 16 automatic group-play qualifiers to fill out what would ultimately resemble the current 32-team format.
The World Cup expanded from 24 teams to 32 teams in 1998. Critics of expanding the tournament further have long argued more teams dilutes its overall quality. Proponents of expanding the field have long argued that it further spreads the joy and wonder of the world's most glorious sporting event.
A 48-team field would mean "we continue with a normal World Cup for 32 teams, but 48 teams go to the party," Infantino said Monday, per Reuters. "FIFA's idea is to develop football in the whole world, and the World Cup is the biggest event there is. It's more than a competition, it's a social event."
A major part of Infantino's platform in the election to succeed Blatter was expanding the World Cup to a field of 40 teams.
Now, it seems, he's thinking even bigger.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
