Fifa proposes new six-team play-off for 2026 World Cup
Fifa has announced its proposed allocation of places for the 48-team 2026 World Cup and revealed a six-nation playoff could be used to determine the last two spots.
Football’s world governing body has proposed there will be 16 direct slots for European teams at the expanded tournament, which is the quota Uefa had sought.
The recommendations will be submitted to be approved by the Fifa council in May.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s plan to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 countries was given unanimous backing by the council in January.
The competition, which has had an unchanged format since 1998, is set to feature 16 groups of three teams under the revamp.
Fifa stated: “The recommendation will now be submitted for the ratification of the Fifa council, whose next meeting is scheduled for 9 May in Manama, Bahrain, two days prior to the 67th Fifa congress.”
Infantino and the presidents of each of the six confederations convened yesterday at Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich and agreed on the proposed slot allocation.
As well as Europe’s quota being increased by three places to 16, it has been recommended there are nine spots for teams from Africa, eight for Asia, six for South America, six for North and Central America and the Caribbean, and one for Oceania.
The host country will still qualify automatically, with their place being taken from the quota of their confederation.
0 Recommendations for the expanded World Cup will go before the Fifa Council for approval in May. With the United States, Mexico, and Canada weighing up a co-hosting bid for 2026, the decision on which hosts will get direct entry is set to be made by the council and not individual confederations.
Fifa’s statement, outlining the plans, added: “In the event of co-hosting, the number of host countries to qualify automatically would be decided by the Fifa council.”
The proposed play-off will feature one team from each confederation with the exception of Uefa, plus one from the host nation’s confederation, with two of the teams being
ALEKSANDER CEFERIN seeded based on the world rankings.
The unseeded teams will be involved in a two-match first round, with the two winners from that then facing a seeded team each for a World Cup berth. The play-off will be contested in the same country as the World Cup and used as a test event, and Fifa specified November 2025 as the likely month in which it would be played. Welcoming the Fifa announcement, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, whose members currently fill 26 of the top 48 places in Fifa’s rankings of 211 national teams, said Europe would be “fairly represented” by the quotas.
He said: “We are satisfied with the proposed slot allocation for the Fifa World Cup as of the 2026 edition, which was agreed today by all confederation presidents, at the bureau of the Fifa council meeting in Zurich. We feel that Uefa will be fairly represented with a total of 16 national associations competing in the new format of the World Cup.
“We look forward to this proposal being ratified by the Fifa council in Bahrain on the 9th of May.” Tommy Wright reckons St Johnstone are reaping the rewards of evolving their squad rather than revolutionising it.
The Perth boss signed up another two members of his group this week when he handed fresh deals to goalkeeper Zander Clark and midfielder Liam Craig.
Wright believes tying his players down early has put his team on the path to sustained success. Saints are on course for a sixth consecutive top-half finish and could claim a Europa League slot if they pip Hearts to fourth.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Hamilton, he said: “I keep pestering the chairman to get the lads signed up early but sometimes he doesn’t like doing it. But it’s so beneficial and I think that’s the way for a club like ours to operate.
“Continuity is maybe not a word that excites people but it has brought success here.”
“We feel that Uefa will be fairly represented with a total of 16 national associations competing in the new format of the World Cup”
Alan Archibald believes Partick Thistle are two wins away from the safety of a top-six finish.
The Maryhill men are in sixth place in the Premiership at the moment, two points ahead of Kilmarnock with four games to go before the split.
The Jags host ninthplaced Ross County tomorrow and tenth-placed Motherwell next week, but face Celtic and Rangers away in their other two fixtures.
Thistle boss Archibald believes six points should be enough to secure a top-half finish. He said: “I would expect it to. It would be massive to go and do that. We have tough, tough home games. The games get bigger and bigger and every game we have got, someone is fighting for something, desperate to win the game.
“The only way to get away from the relegation battle is to get in the top six.”