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No World Cup changes

December 3, 2015

World football's governing association hasn't come to a decision on expanding the World Cup. If the proposal was passed, more spots would be given to Africa and Asia for the 2026 World Cup.

https://p.dw.com/p/1HGMl
Schweiz FIFA Hauptsitz in Zürich
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Coffrini

FIFA's Executive Committee has made no decision on whether to expand the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams, according to former president of the German FA Wolfgang Niersbach.

A proposal to expand the number of teams at the World Cup was presented in front of the Executive Committee as part of a package of reforms on Thursday.

"A decision on the expansion of the World Cup field from 2026 has not been taken. You could see that especially representatives from Asia and Africa were in favor of it. The issue has been handed over to administration for further examination," the German said.

The expansion plan is an idea of UEFA's General Secretary Gianni Infantino who is standing for election to become the president of world football's governing body.

The number of teams qualifying for the World Cup was expanded from 24 to 32 in 1994 with European nations making up 14 of those heading for Russia in 2018.

rd/ (AFP, RTRE)