FIFA set to retain four-team groups at 2026 World Cup after success of format at Qatar 2022 – report
FIFA could retain the four-team group format for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
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The BBC report that a decision could be made at FIFA’s council meeting in Rwanda on 16 March, adding that a the four-team format will likely be retained as long as it “does not extend the ‘footprint’ of the competition – which includes preparation time as well as the tournament itself.”
Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said at the FT Business of Football Summit that the three-team format had “some issues”.
“Groups of three sounded great but there are some issues,” Montagliani said.
“Is it right that you qualify for a World Cup and a third of teams go home after two games?
“We do have to be responsible. There was a footprint of days for 2014 and 2018 and we can’t go over that. We can’t have a three-month World Cup.”
Groups of four would increase the scheduled number of matches from 80 to 104, which would extend the duration of the tournament. This could be negated by reducing the preparation time given to teams before the event.
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