FIFA generated controversy after announcing that the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will be played with 48 teams, in addition to the new format of the Club World Cup, which will begin to be played every four years, with 32 teams.
The first that came out at the crossroads of this decision was the Spanish Leaguewhich through a statement released: “FIFA continues its bad practice of making unilateral decisions on the world football calendar, showing complete disregard for the importance of national championships, and the football community in general.”.
“The leagues were not consulted on any of the changes presentedespecially about the new annual club competition, which we were completely unaware of its existence and which seriously affects our competitions”, continued the claim of the Spaniards.
In this sense, they warned that this type of decision “they do not take into account the competitive, sporting and economic impact on national leagues, clubs and playersby further cramming an already overloaded calendar”, and warned: “LaLiga and others represented in the World Leagues Forum will analyze the decisions of FIFA and decide on the most appropriate next steps”.
“The employers regret that the governing body of world football only considers a small group of clubs and players, despite the fact that thousands of clubs and players who do not participate in international competitions are also affected by the changes. FIFA seems forget it and only think of a few, ignoring the effect on all players in professional football Therefore, with these measures, FIFA moves away from the objective of protecting the interests of the football industry, where an environment must be fostered of balance between national and international football for the benefit of football in general”, concludes the claim.
