FIFA candidate Figo proposes 48-team World Cup

FIFA Presidency candidate Luis Figo presents his campaign proposal "For Football"

Former Portugal winger Luis Figo launched his campaign for the FIFA presidency on Thursday by revealing plans to expand the World Cup to up to 48 teams.

Figo, who is one of the candidates standing against incumbent Sepp Blatter, pledged to hold an open debate on the future of the World Cup if he is elected. The Portugal national team legend said that the current 32-team tournament could be increased to 40 teams or Fifa could stage two 24-team competitions simultaneously on two continents followed by a knockout phase in one nation.

“Both these options are feasible with an extra three to four days of tournament play,” he said. “If this expansion were to take place, I believe that additional teams should come from non-European nations. My starting point in this debate is that by increasing the number of teams participating in the World Cup, we not only make sure that we include more countries from across the world, but also enable Fifa to raise significant increased revenues that can be used to invest in the growth of the game globally.”

One of his proposals for the World Cup is to split it into two 24-team tournaments played simultaneously on two different continents, followed by a final knockout stage in one country.

Another of his key proposals is the distribution of half of FIFA’s wealth — $2.5 billion (2.19 billion euros) — directly to its member associations for spending on grassroots football.

The former Barcelona and Real Madrid superstar also called for the restoration of the ‘old’ interpretation of the offside rule, “where a player is judged offside whether directly involved in the play or not”.

Figo, Dutch football chief Michael van Praag and FIFA vice-president for Asia Prince Ali bin Al Hussein in the FIFA presidential election on May 29.

Image Credit: AFP