Rummenigge slams 48-team World Cup

BERLIN: Fifa’s decision to increase the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams was described yesterday as nonsense by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the head of the association representing Europe’s powerful football clubs. Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) which has 220 members and also chief executive of German champions Bayern Munich, said Fifa should have been more democratic and responsible in making the decision this month. “The increase from 32 to 48 teams is actually nonsense,” he told an audience at the Spobis conference in Duesseldorf. “The World Cup is a most extraordinary event, it’s the biggest sports event in the world and FIFA must deal with this matter in a more responsible matter and more democratic,” he said, adding that the ECA had not been consulted over the change.