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The 2026 edition of the Fifa World Cup will have 48 teams competing for football’s most prestigious accolade. This according to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who had been pressing for an increase in the number of teams that feature at a World Cup since before he became president of the sporting body.
The decision to broaden the tournament’s team capacity was unanimously approved by Fifa’s governing council on January 10. However, several critics argued that the participation of fewer competitive football nations at the World Cup would result in a devalued tournament.
Infantino, who is well aware of the various consequences, said in response to some critics: “We are in the 21st century, and we have to shape the World Cup of the 21st century. Football is more than just Europe and South America. Football is global.”
According to Fifa’s estimates, a 48-team tournament in 2026 would bring about $6.5 billion (R89 billion) in revenue, an increase of $1 billion (R13 billion) from the total it has projected for the 2018 campaign in Russia. Potential profit could increase by around $640 million (R8.8 billion), Fifa said.
The SA Football Association (Safa) and the Tanzanian Football Federation (TFF), along with many other football federations in Africa, have welcomed the decision to add more teams.
TFF secretary-general Mwesigwa Celestin said the decision would increase chances for Tanzania and other African teams to qualify for the finals.
Asia’s football chief, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, said Asia’s size and economic might merited more than its current allocation of four guaranteed spots.
Countries on these continents often feel underrepresented at the World Cup; therefore, the change in the 32-team format will open doors for many soccer nations that feel they have a point to prove.
South Africa is no exception.
Bafana Bafana has only featured in three World Cup tournaments post-apartheid. The national soccer team qualified twice through the CAF qualification process (1998 and 2002) and once by virtue of hosting the tournament in 2010.
The first World Cup tournament kicked off in 1930, in Uruguay, with 13 teams. It was then expanded to 16 teams until 1978. In 1982, a 24-team format was introduced and it was not until the 1998 campaign in France when it changed to a 32-team format.
The tournament will preserve its 32-team structure for the next two spectacles in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, before the 48-team structure takes effect in 2026.
The 48 teams will be placed into 16 three-team groups for the first stage, with the top two teams from each group advancing to a 32-team knockout round.
The host of the 2026 campaign has not yet been declared, but China and the US are the frontrunners to host the beautiful game.
