32 teams at the World Cup will do us just fine FIFA, say voters

FIFA should stick to the current format in place for the World Cup, and scrap any plans of an expansion. At least that’s the opinion of the good people of Twitter, after @Ladbrokes asked our followers how many sides should be able to compete at the biggest sporting event on the planet.

Talks of an expansion have been ongoing for several years now, but while things seemed to have quietened down of late, they resurfaced again earlier this week when FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced his latest brainwave.

It involves adding an extra 16 countries to the current format and introducing a World Cup play-off round, which would see 16 teams dropping out of the tournament after just one game. Seems a little harsh if you ask us…

His response when asked why the tournament should be expanded?

“More teams and regions all over the world would be happy.”

While that may be the opinion of Infantino, it’s not one that’s shared by our followers, with a staggering 61 per cent of them agreeing that the format is fine just the way it is.

How many teams should be in the World Cup?

— Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) October 5, 2016

Elsewhere, only 26 per cent of voters thought the World Cup would be better with a staggering 48 teams taking part, and just 13 per cent of voters happy for another eight teams to participate.

It remains to be seen whether or not this idea will develop into anything more than just that. But while it seems unlikely, remember how farfetched an idea a winter World Cup sounded?

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing