It is still less than a year since Gianni Infantino stood dazzled by destiny at the Fifa congress, tapping his heart in disbelief at really being the president, and already he has swept in the historic, bulky change of a 48-country World Cup. It comes as no surprise, really, that having made it his pitch for votes to expand the World Cup, as he stepped over the fallen careers of his banned former boss at Uefa, Michel Platini, and Fifa’s Sepp Blatter, Infantino has quickly steered through that promise.
With this crowding of 16 more countries into the flagship summer tournament, Europe’s favoured candidate, the promised clean-up successor to the disgraced Blatter era at Fifa, has done what the European football establishment largely opposes. For those who see this as World Cup excellence running to fat, piling one more layer of girth on the current 32-country competition, with a first round in which two countries out of three in 16 groups will qualify, the criticism is obvious.
Related: Fifa approves Infantino’s plan to expand World Cup to 48 teams from 2026
Related: How will a 48-team World Cup work? Fifa’s plan for 2026 explained
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