FIFA balance of the World Cup in Qatar: More money, more football, more Infantino

An the day before the opening of the soccer World Cup, Gianni Infantino gave a one-hour monologue. Two days before the final, he was an hour late. When the president of the world association FIFA took stock, it wasn’t just about the controversial World Cup in Qatar, which he once again described as the “best of all time”. She was an “incredible success”. Football “united” the world.

Unlike before the beginning, when the FIFA President had been tough on the Qatar critics, he now refrained from a confrontation, but only responded to the controversy about the “One Love” captain’s armband when asked. “It’s not about banning something, it’s about following the rules,” Infantino said. Shortly before the first game, FIFA prohibited Manuel Neuer and other captains from wearing the heart symbol they had created on their upper arms and threatened sporting penalties.

Infantino also had something to say about himself. The FIFA Council meeting, which was the reason for his delay, made it clear that “I am in my first term”. That sounded strange, after all he has been president since the beginning of 2016 after succeeding Joseph Blatter who had resigned. Initially, Infantino was intended as a replacement candidate for the European association UEFA and placeholder for Michel Platini. When he was banned, Infantino ran and was elected.

However, the members of the FIFA Council, including Peter Peters for the German Football Association, unanimously decided that the first three years until confirmation in 2019 would not be counted as a term of office. At the FIFA Congress in March 2023, Infantino is unopposed. Since FIFA presidents can be elected for three terms of four years, Infantino could remain in office until 2031.

In 2026, the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico is on the schedule – for the first time with 48 instead of 32 teams. The preliminary round is to be played in sixteen groups of three teams each. Or not? “After this World Cup and the success of the four-team groups, we have to discuss it again,” he said. “You didn’t know until the last minute of the game who would go through. That was unbelievable.” In the cycle of the World Cup in Qatar, the world association recorded revenues of 7.5 billion euros. With the expansion of the field in four years, an increase of 50 percent is expected.

The 2023 Club World Cup will be held in Morocco with seven teams. Two years there will be 32 teams for the first time, it should “really feel like a world championship”. A Club World Cup for women is “planned”. The same applies to small tournaments with teams from different continents every two years in March. In short: there should be more of everything. More soccer. More teams. More money. And more Infantino.