The World of Infantino: The Best WC Ever, FIFA Reformed, MAs Cashed in and It's Just Begun

By Andrew Warshaw

December 16 – He didn't feel gay, he didn't feel like a migrant worker, he didn't feel disabled.

Almost a month after his extraordinary speech on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA President Gianni Infantino today adopted a more pragmatic and dignified tone during his final press conference in Doha .

But there was still a hint of self-promotion as the tournament drew to a close.

Congratulating the authorities of Qatar for hosting "the best World Cup ever" (where have we heard that before?), Infantino mainly focused on the undoubted joyful atmosphere and cited the Tournament "Unique Cohesive Power".< /p>

He defended the decision to hold the World Cup in winter in terms of the physical condition of the players, he defended the extra time added at the end of matches - on average 10 minutes - and (really!) he defended the referees despite Morocco being the last country to protest against the sometimes disastrous refereeing.

He also defended his position when it came to banning political statements by players from FIFA on the eve of the tournament, leading some European countries, including Denmark and Germany, to announce that they would not vote for him when he ran again. in March next year.

"It's not about banning or not banning, it's about regulations," Infantino explained without explaining why FIFA only issued the OneLove armband ban at the last minutes.

"Everyone has the right to express their opinions and beliefs, but when it comes to the playing field, you have to respect football."

On his re-election, Infantino, who came to power in 2016, will not have pleased his detractors by confirming that by virtue of a technicality, he could end up staying in power longer than some would like .

A quirk of the FIFA statutes means that the first three years of Infantino's presidency - when he finished an unfinished term started by Sepp Blatter - do not count towards the 12-year limit agreed in the reforms passed during the FIFAgate scandal.

This means, Infantino said, that despite already seven years of work, "currently I am in my first term" and that his second full term would begin in March.

He couldn't help but talk about how he personally helped transform FIFA's financial distribution since taking over from Blatter.

"Before I became FIFA President, around 300 million euros per year were invested in football development programmes. In January it will be 2.25 billion euros. So seven times more All transparent. Mmmmm….

In terms of fresh news, it now looks very likely that Fifa will reconsider the format of the first-ever 48-team World Cup in 2026.

Currently, the new format would see 16 groups of three teams, with the top two qualifying for round 32. But that could mean a string of dead rubbers and set results.

Given the excitement over the number of group matches in Qatar, Infantino confirmed reports that FIFA may stick to groups of four.

“I have to say that after this World Cup and the success of the groups of four which have been absolutely incredible, I think we have to rethink the format. »

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