After FIFA’s decision to increase the number of participants at the 2026 World Cup to 48 nations, a lot of questions arose with regards to the qualifying process for that particular tournament. How would the 16 extra places be rationed? Which federations would benefit most? How would this impact the quality of the qualifiers themselves and, ultimately, teams preparations for the finals?
Borussia Dortmund and Gabon National Team striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dressed a little different from his contemporaries at the African Player of the Year gala. Aubameyang, who won the award last year, showed up in street clothes, apparently because his luggage got lost.
The FIFA World Cup is set to undergo its first expansion since the current format of 32 teams was employed at the 1998 World Cup in France. The 2026 World Cup, as unanimously approved by members of the FIFA Council on Tuesday, will feature 48 teams.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will stick to the 32-team format, meaning that the expanded tournament will likely make its debut in the CONCACAF region come 2026.
What, you were expecting someone else?
Cristiano Ronaldo has won FIFA's 2016 Men's Player of the Year Award, as expected, beating out finalists Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.
Congratulations, @Cristiano Ronaldo!
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men's Player 2016 pic.twitter.com/6kNMWROFce
You might not have had much time to watch the Malaysian Super League this year, but you definitely have time to watch this goal scored by Mohd Faiz Subri, deemed by FIFA to be the best goal of 2016.
That's right, Subri's incredible strike has won him the Puskas Award.
We don't have much to say about the goal, which really speaks for itself. Look at that curve!
FIFA’s plan to expand the World Cup to 48 teams will be given the green light on Tuesday according to reports. The plan, long expounded by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, could yet encounter resistance as qualifying places for the tournament have yet to be explained. Also, nations like Germany directly oppose the plan.
Cameroon is very mad at Liverpool because Joel Matip doesn't want to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Matip is a senior-capped Cameroon international, has had disagreements with the country's sport governing body before, when he was playing for Schalke, and has evidently decided he just doesn't want to play for them anymore.
Naturally, the Cameroon FA decided that of course Joel Matip wants to play for Cameroon, who wouldn't, and it's all Liverpool's fault he's not going to the African Cup of Nations.
The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations begins on January 14 in Gabon. This will be the 31st edition of the 16-team tournament, with the Ivory Coast serving as the defending champions from the 2015 event.
The Ivory Coast are the early favorites to repeat, but the likes of Senegal, Algeria, Ghana and Egypt are also strong bets with talented squads. What makes the tournament so electrifying is its unpredictability — the 30 previous tournaments have seen 14 different nations crowned champions.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has made it known that he wants to change the World Cup format to allow more teams to compete in the event. As opposed to the current 32 teams, he would like to expand the competition to 48 countries.