Sports

2026 World Cup Will Feature 48 Teams in 12 Groups, FIFA Confirms

Published

7 months ago

March 15, 2023

Eric

The expanded 2026 men’s World Cup in North America will start with 12 groups of four teams in a change from the original planned format of 16 groups of three, football’s world governing body FIFA announced on Tuesday.

The next World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the first to feature 48 teams, a sharp increase from the 32 sides at last year’s tournament in Qatar.

“The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams,” FIFA said.

It means that there will be 104 matches, a huge rise compared to the 64 games played in the 2022 tournament and an increase even on the original plan that the 2026 World Cup would feature 80 matches.

FIFA’s initial plan for 2026 was for 16 groups of three teams, from which the top two countries would advance to the last 32.

The new decided format means the top two in each group will go through to the knockout round along with the eight best third-placed sides.

As a result, the finalists, and the teams finishing third and fourth, will play a total of eight games instead of the current seven.

The decision comes after a dramatic and entertaining group stage at the tournament in Qatar convinced FIFA that a rethink to its original 2026 blueprint was needed.

“The groups of four have been absolutely incredible until the last minute of the last match,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in December.

Tuesday’s decision was announced following a FIFA Council meeting in the Rwandan capital Kigali, at which it confirmed the next men’s World Cup final will be played on Sunday, July 19, 2026.

FIFA said that the total number of days between when clubs must stop playing and release players for international duty, and the final, would be 56, identical to the previous three tournaments.

Nevertheless the World Cup itself may be played over a longer period, after Qatar 2022 was held over just 29 days.

– Expanded Club World Cup –

Infantino is expected to be waved in for a new four-year term as president as he stands unopposed for re-election at Thursday’s FIFA Congress.

Expanding the World Cup had been a priority for Infantino following his election in 2016, when he took over from the disgraced Sepp Blatter at the head of world football.

The last World Cup in North America, in the United States in 1994, featured just 24 teams before it grew to feature 32 teams in France four years later.

The number of venues for the 2026 finals will double, from eight stadiums in Qatar last year to 16.

Eleven venues will be in the USA, with three in Mexico and two in Canada.

FIFA has projected a huge increase in revenues in the four-year cycle leading up to 2026, up to $11 billion from $7.5 billion in the four years up to 2022.

The body is also hoping that a new, expanded 32-team Club World Cup will boost revenues too.

FIFA said Tuesday the competition will start in June 2025 and will be held every four years with club rankings determining qualifiers.

However, an annual competition will also be held, similar to the existing seven-team Club World Cup which is to be discontinued after the 2023 edition.

The yearly competition will involve the six continental club champions and conclude with a final at a neutral venue between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the winner of play-offs between the other teams.

The annual tournament was approved “given the need expressed by the confederations for the champions of their premier club competitions to play each other annually to stimulate competitiveness”, FIFA said.

Sports

Napoli Mock Osimhen for Penalty Miss, Get Knocks

Published

5 days ago

September 27, 2023

Eric

Serie A champions, Napoli, are under serious attack from football followers, who deemed a video posted on the club’s official TikTok handle as mocking Nigeria international Victor Osimhen for missing a penalty on Sunday.

Osimhen, who was the club’s top scorer last season as the Parthenopeans won the Scudetto after three decades, missed the penalty that denied Napoli a chance to win all three points against Bologna on Sunday.

And with just four minutes to the end of the game, the Super Eagles striker was substituted for Giovanni Simeone.

Not happy with the substitution, Osimhen expressed his anger at Napoli coach Rudi Garcia as he walked away to the bench.

Osimhen has since sent his apologies to the coach and his teammates over his action but on Tuesday, the official TikTok of the team, which had posted a video three days ago referring to Osimhen as a coconut head, posted another video trolling the Nigerian for missing the penalty against Bologna.

The action by the club’s social media handle has seen the football faithful from across the world attack the club.

“That video of @sscnapoli trolling @victorosimhen9 over his penalty miss (which I won’t share) is in very poor taste for a player who continually gives 100% for that club. Everyone involved in that decision, from ideation through approval to execution, should be fired, pronto!” Nigerian journalist Collin Udoh wrote.

Sports

Glo Felicitates with Tobi Amusan on Third Diamond League Win

Published

2 weeks ago

September 20, 2023

Eric

Leading provider of digital and telecommunications services, Globacom, has congratulated its brand ambassador, Tobi Amusan, on her victory in the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the Diamond League final in Oregon, United States.

Amusan won the race on Sunday night in 12.33 seconds to win the Diamond League for the third time in a row. She captured her maiden Diamond League trophy in 2021 and had successfully defended it in 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland.

Globacom, which applauded Amusan for the remarkable accomplishment, said in a statement on Tuesday that her triumph, “despite her recent setback, has demonstrated that she is a bright professional who still has a lot to give the world of athletics”.

“With the third Diamond League trophy in her kitty, Amusan remains a true African ambassador at the world stage and an inspiration to millions of youths who look up to her as a role model”, Globacom said.

The company praised Amusan for embodying the resilience and work spirit of the Nigerian people and challenged her to keep progressing, win more laurels, and create a lasting impression on the world of athletics stage.

Amusan has now won three 100m hurdles championships, making her the second woman in Diamond League history to do so after Dawn Nelson-Harper.

Sports

AFCON: Super Eagles Wallop STP 6-0, As Osimhen Grabs Hattrick

Published

3 weeks ago

September 11, 2023

Eric

Victor Osimhen scored thrice as the Super Eagles dispatched Sao Tome and Principe 6-0 in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier on Sunday.

The strikes took the Napoli hit man’s tally to 10 in the qualification series as the rampant Super Eagles soared over a helpless foe at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Osimhen opened the score sheet for the Super Eagles in the 13 minute when he slotted past the Sao Tome goaltender. Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman scored three minutes from the half-hour mark to double Nigeria’s lead.

While Coach Jose Peseiro’s side sought a third goal, the teams headed into the tunnel for half-time with the score line pegged at 2-0.

On resumption, the 2013 African champions continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession, launching attack after attack.

Their dominance eventually paid off as in form Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi beat the Sao Tome goalkeeper from close range to triple Nigeria’s advantage in the 51st minute.

Not done, Osimhen scored his second of the day in the 69th minute and had his hattrick ten minutes later to take his tally in the qualification series to 10.

Samuel Chukwueze’s introduction around the 72th-minute mark added more firepower to the Eagles’ attacking line. The AC Milan man wasted no time to score.

Chukwueze’s 85th-minute strike sealed one of the biggest wins for the Super Eagles in recent times. Nigeria had earlier defeated Sao The Falcons and True Parrots Team 10-0 in the reverse fixture last June, taking the aggregate score to 16-0.

With the win, Nigeria sealed their spot as the winners of Group A in the qualifiers for the Ivory Coast tournament billed for next year.

Nigeria played six matches en route to qualification for the competition. They lost one and other games to finish as group leaders with 15 points. Their only defeat was against Guinea Bissau who pipped them 1-0 earlier in the year.