Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Loew says 40-team World Cup would dilute tournament's value

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany coach Joachim Loew is against FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plans to expand the World Cup to 40 teams, saying it would dilute the value of the tournament.

Loew says 40-team World Cup would dilute tournament's value
(Reuters)

"I don't think its a good idea to dilute the sporting value (of the tournament)," the 2014-World Cup winning coach told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview on Sunday.

Loew added that he had "an absolute understanding for the smaller nations who, thanks to this, could take their place on the big stage."

However, Loew, who was also against enlarging the European championship from 16 to 24 teams, said that expanded tournaments placed a greater "sporting and mental" burden on the players.

"We must be clear that, in the long term, the quality suffers," he said. "We must not overdo it."

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Infantino made enlarging the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams a key point in his successful campaign for the FIFA presidency.

The FIFA Council is due to discuss the proposal, which would be implemented for the 2026 World Cup, at its next meeting on Oct. 13-14.

(Writing by Brian Homewood, editing by Pritha Sarkar)


1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world