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The World Cup expansion debate heats up with Jose Mourinho, German FA taking sides
FIFA is set to decide on whether to expand the field for the 2026 World Cup on Jan. 10, and people have begun taking sides. On Friday, it was Jose Mourinho coming out in favor of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's 48-team proposal, while the German FA said they didn't want to see the World Cup expanded at all.
Mourinho said his favorite part of the 48-team tournament was that while there would be a total of more matches in the competition, no teams would play more matches. It would still take seven matches to win it, just as it does with the current 32-team format.
"I'm totally in favor," Mourinho told the FIFA website. "As a club manager, if the expansion meant more games, less holidays and less preseason for players, I would say no.
"But it's important for critics to analyze and understand that expansion doesn't mean more matches. Players are protected and clubs are protected in this way."
That's an entirely reasonable stance, but one that isn't so tied to the quality of the World Cup or the health of the sport. Mourinho's priority is player health and mitigating any impact on clubs, which he acknowledges is natural because he is a club manager. He's approaching this from that perspective, and it is a very important perspective because of the huge role clubs play in the sport, not to mention how often player health is overlooked.
The German FA (DFB) has different concerns. They are involved with the club side, so they care about some of Mourinho's concerns, but they also have their own national team and the greater health of the sport to consider. Unsurprisingly, they came out against it.
DFB president Reinhard Grindel said that they were against any expansion whatsoever, citing the "considerable weaknesses that are also clearly shown in FIFA factsheets."
FIFA did a study on potential expansion, be it to 40 or 48 teams, and it showed that revenues would skyrocket from expansion, but that from a sporting and fairness perspective, the current 32-team format is unquestionably best.
"At the DFB, we're fundamentally convinced that the tried-and-tested model of 32 participating nations should be held," Grindel continued in a release on the DFB website. "The world championships were always tournaments that inspired -- why should that change?"
Being one of the best teams in the world and the reigning world champions certainly makes it easier to be OK with the status quo, but as Grindel said, FIFA's own factsheets showed that the current format makes for the best soccer and World Cup.
With four days until FIFA decides on the format for 2026, more and more people will take sides. How much they matter ahead of the vote remains to be seen.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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