FIFA to add 40 more matches to 2026 World Cup

FIFA is set to endorse an expansion of the men’s World Cup with 40 more matches, starting with the 2026 edition hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. 

According to Sky News, the decision is to be approved by the FIFA council in a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, on Tuesday.

TheCable earlier reported that the council voted to increase the number of teams in the competition to 48 from its 32-format as from 2026.

It was decided that the tournament would have 16 groups each featuring three teams.

However, FIFA is set to make a U-turn on the grouping decision, favouring to have 12 groups each with four countries.

It is understood that the group winners and runners-up, along with the eight best third-placed teams, would advance to the last 32.

Teams reaching the final, henceforth, will be playing eight games instead of the seven-run that was experienced in Qatar 2022.

The decision would increase the number of matches to 104 instead of the 64 games already proposed with the earlier format.

It is understood that the expansion would help FIFA hit the target of more than £9 billion in revenue.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first to be co-hosted by three countries.

The US tabled the joint bid in 2017 and defeated Morrocco for the hosting rights at the 68th FIFA congress in 2018.

Africa is set to have nine automatic qualification spots in the expanded format, while a tenth country from the continent will participate in a six-nation playoff tournament which will decide the last two slots in the tournament.

The continent currently has five automatic slots in the competition.