Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino has abandoned plans to further expand the World Cups for national teams and clubs.
According to the British newspaper The Times, the decision follows mounting pressure on the FIFA chief after criticism of his initiatives to commercialise the rights to host tournaments.
The newspaper reports that, if re-elected as FIFA president, Infantino will no longer push for an increase in the number of teams participating in the World Cups.
In August, The Times reported that the FIFA president had supported a proposal by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 national teams. According to the newspaper, the initiative could have helped Infantino secure support from a larger number of national football associations ahead of the presidential election.
Further criticism was prompted by plans to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise, a company intended to manage the commercial rights to FIFA's major men's and women's tournaments. FIFA said the arrangement could generate US$4.2 billion and increase revenues for its member associations.
However, the proposal faced opposition from several international football organisations, including UEFA, CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation and CONMEBOL.
Following Infantino's withdrawal of the project, UEFA said it had lost confidence in the FIFA president. According to The Telegraph, the European governing body is considering a vote of no confidence in him if he does not step down voluntarily.
The next FIFA presidential election is scheduled for March 2027 in Morocco. Infantino took over as head of the organisation in February 2016 and has since been re-elected twice without opposition.
