Gianni Infantino has told senior FIFA officials that he will not push to expand either the World Cup or the Club World Cup if he is re-elected as FIFA president, according to The Times.
One of the proposals under consideration was to increase the number of participating teams at the 2030 World Cup, which will mark the tournament’s centenary, from 48 to 64. The measure has been championed by South American football authorities.
The FIFA president has also expressed his desire to see the Club World Cup take place more frequently than every four years, while increasing the number of participating teams from 32 to 64.
Sources cited by The Times believe Infantino’s decision to step back from World Cup expansion is an attempt to “ease the pressure on him following the backlash over his abandoned plan to privatise the tournament” and persuade undecided voters to support his re-election bid.
Infantino had been expected to run unopposed for another term at the helm of FIFA, but he is now guaranteed to face at least one challenger: Kozo Tashima, honorary president of the Japan Football Association (JFA).
Infantino has come under pressure following plans to sell a stake in a company that would have been established to exploit the commercial rights to the World Cup.
In addition to Tashima, Infantino could also face another candidate backed by UEFA in next March’s election.
The FIFA president retains the support of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and had previously received backing from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman. However, it remains unclear whether that support will continue following Tashima’s announcement.
Both UEFA and Concacaf had called for Infantino’s removal and are now set to decide which candidate they will support.