By this time next week, FIFA will have elected a new president, and one of the top candidates to replace the suspended Sepp Blatter has changes to the World Cup format in mind.
Candidate Gianni Infantino says he wants to have 40 nations competing in the World Cup by the 2026 edition of the tournament; only 32 countries can currently qualify for the tournament. (REPORT)
FIFA presidential contender Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has sent transparent voting booths to FIFA in time for the election on Feb. 26, saying: “By the end of this week we will know whether FIFA has taken a full step towards reform, greater transparency and a new era for the world’s most played and watched sport.” (REPORT)
FIFA has reportedly denied Prince Ali’s request to use the transparent booths at the election, and so the candidate has urged the Court of Arbitration for Sport to rule on the matter. An official decision will be made on Thursday. (REPORT)
The draw for the men’s and women’s 2016 Olympic tournaments will take place at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on April 14. (REPORT)
The Spanish Football Federation has chosen Ateltico Madrid’s home stadium, the Vicente Calderón, as the site for the 2016 Copa del Rey final between Barcelona and Sevilla. (REPORT)
UEFA fined Scottish club Celtic after its supporters set off fireworks during the club’s 1-1 tie with Fenerbahce at the Sukri Saracoglu Stadium on Dec. 10. (REPORT)
Will Keane and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson suffered injuries for Manchester United in the club’s FA Cup win vs. Shrewsbury on Monday. (REPORT)
MONDAY REWIND
Despite not starting for their clubs in weeks, Tim Howard or Brad Guzan will start in goal for the U.S. Men’s National Team against Guatemala in March’s World Cup qualifiers. (REPORT)
U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann wants to keep expectations of Christian Pulisic “grounded” in the wake of the 17-year-old’s recent success with Borussia Dortmund. (REPORT)
SBI previewed Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League matchups, as the Seattle Sounders host Club America and D.C. United travels to Querétaro. (REPORT)
Klinsmann remained upbeat when discussing the USMNT’s chances to qualify from its Copa America Centenario group, pointing to the team’s success during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as an example. (REPORT)
SBI’s editorial staff named The Weekend’s Best, and West Ham United midfielder Dimitri Payet received honors as Player of the Week while AS Roma was named Team of the Week. (REPORT)
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What do you think Infantino’s idea? Think FIFA should use transparent voting booths?
Share your thoughts below.
Prince Ali is the only candidate interested in reform, which makes it no surprise that he’s gained no traction.
“FIFA presidential contender Prince Ali bin al-Hussein has sent transparent voting booths to FIFA” This is taking the transparency thing a bit too literal. I think making everyone’s votes on all issues public, would cleaning up the vote buying/selling/trading that is going on. and would be a huge step towards holding the FIFA ExCo and general membership accountable for their votes.
40 teams? Meh. Don’t water down the WC.
agreed
Definitely agree. I feel like we are just at the point now that 32 is not too many. Most, if not all, of the teams that get in are competitive. I still think Asia gets too many spots and Europe too few but it’s generally pretty good. Let’s leave it that way.
I get the sentiment to NOT WATER DOWN the cup but I can see a way to make it happen with out truly affecting the tournament. Go NCAA style and do the 8 groups still, with only the top three Pots having guaranteed positions. For the last tier (POT 4), make it a 1 Game “Do or Die” play in to the group stage.
Seeded – 8
Pot 2 – 8
Pot 3 – 8
Play In – 16
More nations involved. The less developed regions can get 2 additional positions which means more interest, more eyes on the game, more sponsorship, more money. In this case More is More!
I can here Ian Darke now, “While the world cup dream begins in earnest for these two teams, after 90 minutes one of these teams will be engulfed in the most tragic nightmare.”
The drama would be riveting!
its all about getting more votes. but more logically; despite being terrible soccer nations (currently), splitting 4.5 finals spots among 60% of the world’s population (Asia) is really holding the sport back.
post ’94 the move from 24 to 32 teams in the final made previously occasional qualifiers like the USA, Ghana, Japan, Colombia and to be regular contenders with out diluting the Finals one bit. I bet you get the likes of China or India qualifying semi-regularly they will become decent soccer nations a la USA in the late 80’s into the early 90’s.. its an obvious move imo.
plus 2026 in the USA, each team playing 4 group games = money!
I don’t think handing out WC berths to marginal nations makes them much better. Asian doesn’t even deserve 4.5 spots now. At the last WC, the four Asian teams managed 3 draws and 9 losses between them. Only one Asian team made the knockout stages in 2006 and 2010 and while Japan and SK did well as hosts in 2002, the other Asian teams in that world cup were 3 and out.