KUALA LUMPUR: Qatar stressed that the 2022 World Cup remains at 32 teams as FIFA chief Gianni Infantino piled on pressure to expand the tournament to 48 and share it with other Gulf countries. It’s still open as an idea but it’s not a done deal for it to be a 48-team World Cup.”Although Qatar has said it is open to expanding, Khater was at pains to underline that “the status quo is that it’s still a 32-team World Cup, everything after that is an assessment”. Khater said there was no chance of UAE — who have signalled they would like to hold games — or fellow blockaders Saudi Arabia co-hosting the World Cup, given the current impasse. “Sharing the games with a few of the neighbouring countries is of course an option as well to make it a true World Cup for the world and for the whole Gulf region,” he said. “And of course it’s going to be a nice achievement if the first World Cup of 48 teams would be played in Asia.”

Source: Pakistan Today April 07, 2019 04:58 UTC