KOKSNATION

The FIFA Council meet in Zürich next week for the first time this year. Potential alterations to the World Cup are likely to be on the agenda. The German football association President Reinhard Grindel rendered an interview to DFB.de ahead of the meeting and highlighted the dangers of rushing through proposals.
 

When asked about the World cup team expansion proposal, Grindel has this to say. Here are his best quotes;

"The member associations received the proposals just before Christmas. I think we need a prolonged period of time to discuss them, as individual associations, confederations and then as a whole. A decision shouldn’t be rushed through".


"FIFA President Gianni Infantino has always said that transparency is key. To ensure this happens in this instance, I feel we need time to examine the proposals internally before discussing them in the future, potentially at the FIFA Congress in May. It’s important to gauge opinions in the upcoming summits too. The DFB will send representatives to February’s one in Addis Ababa and ensure that it features on the agenda".

Speaking on the Format Grindel said, "FIFA have offered two 40-team and two 48-team options. The 40-team variations feature eight groups of five sides, or 10 of four. One of the 48-side varieties features a pre-tournament featuring 36 teams, with 12 seeded sides automatically reaching the knock-out stage. The other option simply features 16 groups of three".

However, an agreement is yet to be agreed as the meeting date hasn't yet been fixed.