Sunday 28 / April / 2024
Zurich: Diego Maradona is delighted by plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams and Argentina's former captain said on Monday that it would rekindle interest in the tournament.
The FIFA Council is expected to approve a proposal to expand the finals from 32 to 48 teams, starting in 2026, when it meets on Tuesday.
Maradona, one of the greatest players to grace the game, has been a long-time critic of FIFA but the two sides buried the hatchet last year after Gianni Infantino was elected president of the global soccer body to replace the disgraced Sepp Blatter.
"I'm delighted by Gianni's initiative because it gives chances to teams that otherwise would start the qualifiers knowing they had no chance of getting to the World Cup," Maradona told reporters after a veterans' match at FIFA headquarters.
"It gives each country the dream and it renews the passion for football, it appears to me to be a fantastic idea," added Maradona, who captained Argentina to World Cup success in 1986.
He said it was important for the sport that FIFA's image improved after it was battered by a corruption scandal that has seen 40 individuals and two sports marketing companies indicted in the United States.
"We want a FIFA that is clean so people come back to the stadiums, with so much corruption people have got tired of always seeing the same thing," said the 56-year-old.
Maradona was a frequent critic of Infantino's predecessor Sepp Blatter and claimed there was "a mafia" inside FIFA.
He had also previously criticised Infantino, saying it was "very wrong to go from drawing the lots to running for FIFA president."
The remark was a reference to Infantino's previous role as general secretary of European soccer governing body UEFA, where his duties included supervising draws for European competitions.
Americas-wide qualifying
Meanwhile, FIFA has proposed merging the CONCACAF and South American qualifiers as part of its plans to expand the 2026 World Cup.
Venezuelan Football Federation president Laureano Gonzalez said in an interview the idea for the merger had come from FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Gonzalez, who is also a vice-president of CONMEBOL, the governing body for South America, said it would want at least 14 places at the finals for the two regions combined before accepting the proposal.
CONCACAF represents North and Central America as well as the Caribbean.
The FIFA Council is due to vote on Tuesday whether to increase the number of teams at the finals from the current 32 to either 40 or 48 from 2026. FIFA will decide at a later date which regions will be awarded the additional slots.
CONMEBOL currently has four-and-a-half places at the World Cup for its 10 members while CONCACAF, which has 35 FIFA members in its ranks, has three-and-a-half places.
"There is a suggestion from Gianni Infantino to unify the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF qualifiers," Gonzalez told the Venezuelan sports daily Meridiano.
"This would have support if they gave us more places. At the moment, we have seven between the two confederations, plus two half places," he said.
"If this went up to 14, similar to what Europe has for more or less the same number of teams, the idea would catch on on the continent."
FIFA could not immediately be reached for comment. Europe currently has 13 places for 55 teams, plus one for 2018 World Cup hosts Russia.
CONCACAF is also a leading contender to host the 2026 World Cup, possibly with a joint bid involving at least two out of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
