FIFA consider expanding World Cup to 40 teams

The proposal was raised at FIFA’s executive committee on Thursday – just hours after the dawn raids which saw two officials, Concacaf president Alfredo Hawit and Conmebol president Juan Angel Napout, arrested.

[DAWN RAIDS: FIFA officials arrested at Zurich hotel]

The current quota of 32 nations started at the 1998 World Cup in France, with the eight-team boost expected to increase spots available to non-European countries.

Europe currently has 13 automatic spots, with the other continents lagging well behind in terms of representation – Africa (five places), South America (four and a half), Asia (four and a half), North and Central America (three and a half) and Oceania (half a place). The final berth goes to the host.

The new format could start from the 2026 tournament.

The World Cup is too European heavy. It doesn’t matter if that’s where the greatest depth lies – the showpiece international tournament should have solid representation from all corners of the globe. The fact Oceania doesn’t even have an automatic spot (hence Australia’s move to Asian qualifying) is a farce.

However, a reshuffle to 40 teams has huge ramifications. Their first dilemma: should they a) reshuffle the group stage into eight groups of five teams, or b) 10 groups of four teams?

Option 'a' means 32 extra matches – top two in each group progressing to the last 16, and 24 nations crashing out at the first hurdle.

Option 'b' means only 12 additional games in the group stage, but creates problems with regards to how many teams progress. You need either 16 or 32 teams to advance for a fluid knockout format. The former would see 24 teams sent home - as per the earlier example - however, some second-placed teams would crash out too. But the alternative, just eight teams going home, seems utterly pointless.

Conclusion: option 'a' will be chosen, but it’s bound to face resistance.