As this year's edition draws to a close, reports suggest that FIFA are looking into changing the format of the 2026 World Cup.
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As per Reuters, world football's governing body is looking into restructuring the next tournament that will be jointly hosted in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
In 2026, the number of participants at the showpiece will increase from 32 countries to 48, and with the current three-team group format that is set to be implemented, FIFA risk having a lot of dead-rubber games.
Contrived results are a real threat; for example, if two sides who play each other on the last group matchday have both won their previous game, there would no need for the teams to be particularly adventurous.
Earlier this year, FIFA conceded that this is something they had considered and are concerned about.
"It's an issue that has been raised," FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani said in March.
Alternative formats are currently being tabled for the FIFA council to consider when they convene next year.
One of them, according to legendry former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, is 12 groups of four teams, with the best third-placed teams advancing along with the top two in each group.
A different option is to split the World Cup into two separate halves of 24, each featuring six groups of four teams, with the winner of each half meeting in the final.
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While there is also the element of the tournament having too many games with 48 teams in it, more matches mean more money from broadcast rights.
As things stand, the tournament will go from having 64 matches to 80 in 2026, but, because television rights are 90% of the revenue FIFA makes, it is likely the potential of maximising that will weigh heavy when they make their decision on a potential new format.
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