The European Club Association(ECA), an independent body that represents football clubs at the European level has come out to oppose the proposed plans of expanding the FIFA World Cup.
This comes after FIFA President, Gianni Infantino proposed a plan of expanding the competition by having 48 teams, with 16 groups consisting of 3 countries each. The plan had initially been backed by several Asian countries who had welcomed the opportunity, however, things now look sour after the ECA’s public outburst.
The ECA feels that the number of games has already reached an all-time high and more games would only lead to an increased mental as well as physical strain on the players.
"We have to focus on the sport again," said ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "Politics and commerce should not be the exclusive priority in football. In the interest of the fans and the players, we urge FIFA not to increase the number of World Cup participants." The ECA has also sent a letter to FIFA criticising its proposed plan of having a bigger World Cup.
Several top managers have also come out to speak against the plan. Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola last week had warned that such a move would lead to a global saturation of football which would ultimately ‘kill’ the players. Back in 2014, World Cup winning manager Joachim Low was quoted by ESPN stating that a bigger World Cup involving an increased number of players would only dilute the quality of the competition.
Reports say that if the motion is brought to effect, the changes would only come by World Cup 2026.
Gianni Infantino, who replaced the slandered Sepp Blatter, has had a history of such decisions. As the UEFA General Secretary, he ensured the expansion of the European Championship from 16 to 24 teams.
According to Reuters, the FIFA Council will meet in January to decide the four possible formats of the world cup which would include:
- Continuing with the current 32 team format involving 8 groups of 4, followed by knockout rounds.
- A 40 team format involving 8 groups of 5, or 10 groups of 4.
- A 48 team tournament which will involve a preliminary round involving 16 knockout ties where the winners join the other 16 teams in a 32 team group stage.
- A 48 team tournament involving 16 groups of 3, as currently favoured by FIFA President, Gianni Infantino.
FIFA has been involved in a lot of controversies in the past few years from the Qatar World Cup to corruption scandals and now this new World Cup expansion plan. It remains to be seen if the unwillingness of the European clubs will make Gianni Infantino back down from his proposed plans or whether the Italian will stick to his guns and bring about one of the greatest changes in World Cup history.
