FIFA Approves Raft Of Measures Including More World Cup Games
The FIFA Council has adopted several changes in relation to the future of men’s and women’s competitions, at its meeting in Rwanda on Tuesday (14th March).
Among the changes approved is the international match calendar for the men’s game 2025-2030 and the women’s game in 2024-2025, which were unanimously approved following a detailed consultation process.
The biggest change approved by the Council affects the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format which will also see the number of nations taking part rise from 32 to 48.
Based on a review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience, the FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32.
The new format will see an additional 40 matches played during the tournament which will also extend to up to 39 days is expected to mitigate the risk of collusion and ensure that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams.
In addition to changes in the World Cup format, details were also approved for a new yearly FIFA club competition. The current version of the FIFA Club World Cup™ will be discontinued after the 2023 edition and the FIFA Council unanimously approved the strategic concept of a yearly FIFA club competition as of 2024.
The new yearly competition will feature the champions of the premier club competitions of all confederations and will conclude with a final to be played at a neutral venue, between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of intercontinental play-offs between the other confederations. Details on timing and format are to follow in due course.
However, the new format and match calendar approvals have drawn stark criticism from LaLiga which oversees the game in Spain.
In a statement they, said: “FIFA continues its malpractice of making unilateral decisions on the world football calendar, showing complete disregard for the importance of national championships, and the football community in general.
“FIFA completely neglects the economic damage these decisions inflict on leagues around the world. Leagues were not consulted about any of the changes presented today, especially about the new annual club competition, of which we were completely unaware, and which seriously affects our competitions.
“These decisions do not take into account the competitive, sporting and economic impact on national leagues, clubs and players, by further cramming an already overloaded schedule. LaLiga and other leagues represented in the World Leagues Forum will analyse FIFA’s decisions and decide on the most appropriate next steps.
“FIFA only takes into account a small group of clubs and players, when in the professional football ecosystem there are many professional leagues, thousands of clubs and players that do not participate in international competitions but are affected. FIFA seems to forget this and only thinks of a few, ignoring the effect on all in professional football.
“Therefore, with these measures, FIFA moves away from the objective of protecting the interests of the football ecosystem, where an environment of balance between national and international football must be fostered for the benefit of football in general.”
