Football's global governing body FIFA has abandoned plans to expand the 2022 Qatar World Cup to 48 nations, deciding to stick with 32 countries because of the political and logistical complexities of using another Gulf nation, Al Jazeera reports.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino's hopes of expanding the Middle East's first World Cup in the region were stymied by the regional diplomatic crisis and the body's demands on host nations to adhere to its human and labour rights requirements.
That means the World Cup will not be expanded until 2026, with FIFA already having approved a format with 48 teams for that tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.