Anchor: Starting in 2026, FIFA will be expanding its global football competition from 32 to 48 teams. While this promises to be a boost for FIFA’s revenues, it does not seem all that good for South Korea, which is aiming to advance to the initial stage of 16 groups.
Park Jong-hong has this report.
Report: The world football governing body FIFA has voted unanimously to expand the World Cup so that 48 teams will compete starting with the 2026 tournament.
The move is the first since the World Cup was expanded to a 32-team format for the 1998 tournament in France.
One of the key reasons cited for the change is to bring in more money for the sport. FIFA said it expects revenues from hosting the single largest sporting event will jump to raise potential profit by around 640 million U.S. dollars.
With the move, FIFA is expected to have a greater say in the Asian market, including China, in terms of tickets available for the finals and selling of broadcasting rights. Simply put, the bigger pool in the finals means the Asian Football Federation will be allowed about seven and not the previous 4-point-5 spots in the World Cup.
Under the new scheme, an initial stage of 16 groups of three teams will play matches. The top two finishers in each group will advance to a 32-team knockout stage.
Korea Football Association(KFA) Technical Director Lee Yong-soo says the expansion is not necessarily a good thing for Team Korea.
[Soundbite: Lee Yong-soo, KFA Technical Director]
"It will likely get easier for South Korea to make it to the finals but getting past the knockout stage to the final 16 will be tougher."
Experts say depending on how the 48 spots are allocated among the sport's six continental confederations, South Korea could be pitted against a strong European and Latin American football powerhouse. They say such an arrangement will make it more challenging for Korea to move up in the tournament.
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.