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Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
CONCACAF chief rejects 64-team World Cup plan for 2030
The South American proposal for the 2030 World Cup to feature 64 teams has received a serious blow with CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani rejecting the idea. The opposition of Montagliani, who heads the confederation for the 41 member associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean, follows similar stances taken by UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). "I don't believe expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players," Montagliani told ESPN. The World Cup will expand from 32 to teams to 48 for the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico but CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez recently proposed going to 64 nations for 2030. Dominguez said such a move could be a one-off for the centenary edition of the tournament which will be hosted in Spain, Portugal and Morocco but also feature a game in three different South American nations. But Montagliani said it was far too early to even be thinking about further expansion. "We haven't even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don't think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table," he said. On Saturday, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also expressed opposition. "Personally, I don't agree," the Bahraini leader told AFP, adding the 2030 edition had settled on 48 teams "so the matter is settled". "If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams," Sheikh Salman said on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur. "Where would we end up then? It would become chaos." UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had called the proposal a "bad idea". It remains to be seen what stance the FIFA leadership will take on the idea but secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world body would "analyse" the South American proposal. sev/mw
Al-Ahram Weekly
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Al-Ahram Weekly
CONCACAF chief rejects 64-team World Cup plan for 2030 - World
The South American proposal for the 2030 World Cup to feature 64 teams has received a serious blow with CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani rejecting the idea. The opposition of Montagliani, who heads the confederation for the 41 member associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean, follows similar stances taken by UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). "I don't believe expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players," Montagliani told ESPN. The World Cup will expand from 32 to teams to 48 for the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico but CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez recently proposed going to 64 nations for 2030. Dominguez said such a move could be a one-off for the centenary edition of the tournament which will be hosted in Spain, Portugal and Morocco but also feature a game in three different South American nations. But Montagliani said it was far too early to even be thinking about further expansion. "We haven't even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don't think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table," he said. On Saturday, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also expressed opposition. "Personally, I don't agree," the Bahraini leader told AFP, adding the 2030 edition had settled on 48 teams "so the matter is settled". "If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams," Sheikh Salman said on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur. "Where would we end up then? It would become chaos." UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had called the proposal a "bad idea". It remains to be seen what stance the FIFA leadership will take on the idea but secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world body would "analyse" the South American proposal. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
CONCACAF chief rejects 64-team World Cup plan for 2030
Victor Montagliani, the president of CONCACAF, has rejected the South American proposal for a 64-team World Cup in 2030 (Megan Briggs) The South American proposal for the 2030 World Cup to feature 64 teams has received a serious blow with CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani rejecting the idea. The opposition of Montagliani, who heads the confederation for the 41 member associations in North and Central America and the Caribbean, follows similar stances taken by UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Advertisement "I don't believe expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players," Montagliani told ESPN. The World Cup will expand from 32 to teams to 48 for the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico but CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez recently proposed going to 64 nations for 2030. Dominguez said such a move could be a one-off for the centenary edition of the tournament which will be hosted in Spain, Portugal and Morocco but also feature a game in three different South American nations. But Montagliani said it was far too early to even be thinking about further expansion. Advertisement "We haven't even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don't think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table," he said. On Saturday, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also expressed opposition. "Personally, I don't agree," the Bahraini leader told AFP, adding the 2030 edition had settled on 48 teams "so the matter is settled". "If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams," Sheikh Salman said on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur. Advertisement "Where would we end up then? It would become chaos." UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin had called the proposal a "bad idea". It remains to be seen what stance the FIFA leadership will take on the idea but secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world body would "analyse" the South American proposal. sev/mw
The Independent
15-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Concacaf president joins chorus opposing 2030 World Cup expansion to 64 teams
The controversial proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams has been criticised by several continental federations, with both the Concacaf and Asian Football Confederation presidents opposing the move. South American governing body Conmebol formally proposed the expansion last week, lending momentum to an idea that was initially suggested at a Fifa council meeting last month by Ignacio Alonso, the president of the Uruguayan Football Association. Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez officially backed the idea at the federation's congress on Thursday, saying the expansion would ensure 'nobody on the planet is left out of the party.' But the suggestion has been criticised by several other bodies in world football. ESPN reported that Victor Montagliani, president of Concacaf - which governs football in North and Central America and the Caribbean - said: 'I don't believe expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players.' 'We haven't even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don't think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.' The 2026 World Cup, which will be held across the US, Canada and Mexico, will be the first to expand to 48 teams from the existing model of 32. The decision to increase the number of teams in the tournament was made following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress in 2017. Any further expansion to 64 teams would mean the 2030 edition would involve 128 matches, double the number contested under the format viewers are familiar with. The 2026 tournament will feature 104 matches played out across 16 host cities. The 2030 edition already faces a number of logistical challenges due to its sprawling nature across three continents. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are designated hosts but Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina will all host opening matches to mark the centenary of the tournament, which was first hosted and won by Uruguay. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa said the 64-team idea risked the World Cup descending into 'chaos'. 'If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,' he said at the 35th AFC Congress. 'But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.' Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, who is also a Fifa vice president, was another to criticise the proposal. He said: 'It is not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it's not a good idea for our qualifiers as well.' He also queried the sudden nature of the original suggestion: 'I don't know where it came from but it's strange that we didn't know anything before this proposal at the FIFA Council.' Fifa has yet to comment on the merit of the idea but said following the original suggestion that it was obliged to consider it. The proposal may be discussed at Fifa's upcoming 75th Congress, which will be held in Asuncion, Paraguay on 15 May.
Bahrain News Gazette
13-04-2025
- Sport
- Bahrain News Gazette
AFC President Commends Record Number of Bids for 2031 Asian Cup
Kuala Lumpur: Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and First Vice President of FIFA, chaired the sixth Executive Committee meeting on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Malaysia. Shaikh Salman commended the record number of bids submitted to host the 2031 AFC Asian Cup, noting that receiving seven expressions of interest highlights the tournament's prestigious status as the most important national team competition in Asia. According to Bahrain News Agency, the AFC issued a call on November 27, 2024, to all member national associations to express their interest in hosting the upcoming edition of the continental tournament, with the deadline set for March 31. The AFC received official responses from several associations: the Football Federation Australia, the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Korea Football Association (KFA), the Kuwait Football Association, the UAE Football Association (UAEFA), and a joint bid from the Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic (KFU), the Tajikistan Football Federation (TFF), and the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA). Shaikh Salman emphasized that the AFC Asian Cup is one of the AFC's greatest success stories. The recent edition hosted by Qatar further solidified the tournament's status as one of the best continental competitions in the world. The record number of hosting bids reflects the tournament's increasing prestige and appeal. The 18th edition hosted by Qatar set record numbers in attendance and digital engagement, with 7.9 billion impressions, reaching a global audience across more than 60 broadcasters in over 160 countries and regions. With Saudi Arabia confirmed as the host for the next edition in 2027, the country that will host the 2031 edition is expected to build on this legacy and enhance the status of the continental tournament. Shaikh Salman underscored that hosting the tournament brings tangible and intangible benefits, including infrastructure development, strengthening community bonds, gaining organizational experience, improving the technical level of the game, and establishing the host country as a global sports hub. In the next phase, the AFC will work with the national associations that have submitted hosting bids to complete the required documents according to the approved timeline, with a workshop dedicated to the bidding process scheduled for later this April. Subsequently, the AFC administration will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the submitted bids, ahead of selecting the host country for the tournament, which will feature 24 national teams, through a vote by the General Assembly in 2026. During the meeting, the Executive Committee approved the decisions of all the standing committees, including the AFC Asian Cup Organising Committee, the Finance Committee, the Competitions Committee, and the Professional Football Committee.
