It looks like we will be seeing a 48 team World Cup as FIFA is expected to announce its plans to expand the tournament this week.
The decision to increase the number of teams allowed to compete in the European Championships in France this summer was a source of much debate. Some fans were of the opinion that allowing 24 teams into the tournament instead of just 16 would reduce the competitiveness and simply create more whipping boys. Others thought it was terrific that smaller countries would have more of a chance of being represented on the international stage.
The Iceland side were almost like a living advertisement for the new format. The energy and enthusiasm of their fans at their first major tournament and the team's brilliant performances - hilariously knocking out England - showed the potential benefits of having small countries at major competitions.
FIFA has been looking at expanding the number of countries competing in the World Cup. Back in November the new President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, said that he favoured a move towards a 48-team tournament:
I like 48 because it gives a particular flavor, but I'm still really torn.
Everyone wants an expansion. Some favor 40 teams, others 48.
Everyone sees that the increase of the participation for the World Cup is really a tool to promote football in more countries.
We're not sure about "everyone". Jose Mourinho did say recently in an interview with FIFA's website that he was "totally in favour" of the proposal - which he believed would mean "more investment in different countries in infrastructure, in youth football" - but the German football association and European Club Association are among the opponents of the 48-team format.
Either way, it seems like a 48-team World Cup is set to be announced this week, after 'The Best FIFA Awards'. According to the Telegraph, expansion is "a foregone conclusion, with the majority of national associations and council members said to be in favour" of expansion.
The proposed format is that there will be 16 groups of three teams, with the top two in each group advancing to the last 32 stage. One particularly radical proposal from FIFA is reportedly for drawn group fixtures to be followed by a penalty shoot-out, so that each match finishes with a definitive winner and loser.
The Telegraph reports that the FIFA council will meet the morning after the aforementioned awards in order to "rubber-stamp" the increase.
UEFA, whose teams currently take 13 of 32 slots at a World Cup, is expected to demand a minimum of two more spots if the competition does indeed expand its number of participants.
