Expect FIFA council to approve expansion to 40-team World Cup in 2026

The FIFA Council meets again next month, and one item on the agenda will be World Cup 2026. We’ll find out how many teams will be in that tournament. Sources say it is likely that FIFA will vote to expand the tournament from 32 to 40 teams and the format will be eight groups with five teams apiece. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been vocal in his support for expansion of the competition.

In addition to the expansion vote, look for the bidding rules to be laid out in detail next month. Once those rules are finalized, it will start to clear the way for the United States to decide and formally announce it is bidding to host World Cup 2026.

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