We have the Qatar 2022 World Cup! The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, confirmed the dates for the next World Cup, but the number of participating teams has not been confirmed yet. The next edition of the most important national teams tournament will be the first to be played in the middle of the club season: from November 21 to December 18.
"The leagues have been informed and will have to adjust their calendars accordingly. In the end, it is the right decision. You cannot play in June and July, and in November and December the players will be well prepared because it is almost the beginning of the season," said Infantino in a press conference held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where the grand final of Russia 2018 between France and Croatia will take place on Sunday.
The president of FIFA also informed that the number of participating teams in Qatar 2022 has not yet been decided, so for now, the World Cup will be played "with 32 teams and the allocation of spots remains the same," he said.
However, he warned that the South American Confederation proposed to expand to 48 teams for this edition, as it will be in 2026, but the FIFA Council decided to pass that request on to the Qatari organizers.
Infantino also assured that the selection of the United States and Canada as the host of the 2026 World Cup does not harm the intentions of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to host the 2030 World Cup, despite being in the same continent. "They are different confederations, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL. It will not have a negative impact, but there will be many candidates and we hope that everything is done correctly," he said.