FIFA admiral Gianni Infantino, accomplishing a affiance he bogus during endure year's acclamation campaign, said the move meant that "more can participate and abounding added will admission a adventitious to dream".



FIFA's 211 affiliate associations commemoration authority one vote in the presidential election, and 135 of them admission never played at a Apple Cup, so amplification of the affray was consistently acceptable to appeal.The new format, to be alien in 2026, will affection a aboriginal annular of 16 groups of three teams, with the top two in commemoration condoning for a annular of 32. From afresh on, it would be a aboveboard knockout contest.



The hosts of the 2026 affray will be absitively in May 2020. The CONCACAF Confederation, apery North and Axial America and the Caribbean, is apparent as a able contender, possibly accouterment a aggregate bid from at atomic two of the United States, Canada and Mexico.The new-look affray will admission the bulk of matches from 64 to 80, but Infantino said it would crave the aforementioned bulk of bout canicule and stadiums as now:



"This architecture can be played in in actuality the aforementioned bulk of canicule as today, 32, and the acceptable aggregation will play the aforementioned bulk of games, seven, as today, and in the aforementioned bulk of stadiums, 12, as today," he said.Critics admission said that FIFA is analytical with a acceptable formula; the endure Apple Cup in Brazil was broadly admired as one of the best in the competition's 87-year-old history, featuring shock results, last-minute brawl and outstanding abandoned performances.