FIFA said the decision followed a 'thorough review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience.'
The governing body of soccer increased the size of the 2026 tournament for the second time -- six years after the first -- by approving a bigger group stage for the inaugural 48-team event.
FIFA said the decision followed a "thorough review that considered sporting integrity, player welfare, team travel, commercial and sporting attractiveness, as well as team and fan experience." The new World Cup format will have 12 groups of four teams instead of 16 groups of three, the plan chosen in 2017. Both options were to go to a 32-team knockout round.
Increasing the World Cup's lineup was first floated in 2015. It was proposed then as a way to sweeten FIFA's 200-plus member federations into accepting much-needed governance reforms in the wake of American and Swiss investigations of corruption. In Qatar, the split-screen drama created by decisive group games played simultaneously helped convince FIFA that four-team groups are better.
The extra 24 games should drive up the price of sponsor deals and broadcasting deals not yet signed. However, some key broadcast markets are already signed, including in the United States, Brazil and the Middle East.
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