[Anchor]

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced that he will consider expanding the number of participating countries to 64 starting from the next World Cup, which will be held in four years. While the intention is to provide more nations with the opportunity to participate, the proposal is facing significant backlash.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.

[Reporter]

In an interview with a Swiss broadcaster, FIFA President Infantino stated that he would review a plan to increase the number of participating teams to 64 for the 2030 World Cup.

[Gianni Infantino / FIFA President: Every country should be able to dream of the World Cup. If smaller nations do not even have the chance to participate, there will be no motivation or incentive for them to improve their skills.]

He argued that opportunities should be extended beyond the two major pillars of world football, Europe and South America, to teams from other continents. He cited the strong performance of African teams in this tournament, including the surprise package Cape Verde, as evidence.

[Gianni Infantino / FIFA President: Out of 10 African teams, a remarkable 9 passed the group stage. This is a tremendous result compared to the last World Cup, when only 5 countries participated.]

Reactions within the football community are sharply divided.

South America, which first proposed this plan in March of last year, welcomes the expansion, noting that it could increase the number of matches they can host, especially with the opening matches of the next tournament already set to be held across three South American countries. Conversely, there is strong opposition from Europe and Asia, where critics argue that the prestige of the World Cup finals and the value of regional qualifiers would be significantly diminished.

Furthermore, there is persistent criticism that this expansion plan is a tailored proposal designed to guarantee the qualification of China and India, which represent massive market potential.

The British public broadcaster BBC analyzed that if one-third of the 211 member nations participate in the World Cup, the number of matches will increase significantly, leading to a proportional rise in FIFA's revenue. The report suggested this could also be a strategic move for President Infantino to secure votes ahead of next year's presidential election, as it would increase the revenue-sharing funds distributed to financially smaller associations.

(Video Editing: Kim Jong-tae)