Will FIFA's expanded World Cup ruin the competition?

The governing body of FIFA has voted the 2026 World Cup will be a competition of 48 teams, a noticeable uptick from the current 32-team format. This gives teams from poorer and smaller nations a chance to compete. It also means introducing a "do-or-die" knockout stage earlier in the bracket which has some fans upset. A superior team having a bad game could be eliminated from the World Cup prematurely and weaken the overall level of competition. Is this move good for FIFA? ⚽

The Votes Are In!

#ExpandFIFA

#BadCallFIFA

With 48 competitors, get ready for some 7-0 blowouts in the first round. It could be ugly to watch and certainly won't be fun.

Soccer (or football) is one of the most international sports in the world. It unites people across borders. Why shouldn't FIFA expand and be more inclusive? Everyone deserves a shot.

"This change is about money. The World Cup could bring in an extra $640 million with these changes. This modification isn't because the cup needed more quality or anything like that. It's about that green paper that FIFA seems to always crave."

http://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/why-world-cup-expansion-is-great-news-for-fifa-but-horrible-news-for-fans/

FIFA is known for being corrupt and this is just another example. FIFA is taking an elite competition and turning it into a circus.

https://media.giphy.com/media/lU62yvPjIrPa0/giphy.gif

Here's a list of some of the teams that today would now qualify to compete in the World Cup. Do you really want to tell these proud nations they can't compete on the world stage?

Africa

DR Congo
Burkina Faso
Nigeria
Ghana

Asia

Saudi Arabia
Uzbekistan
United Arab Emirates
China
Qatar

Europe

Rep of Ireland
Turkey
Slovakia

North America

Panama
Haiti
Honduras
Curacao

South America

Uruguay
Peru

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/who-would-qualify-48-team-9596978

For true fans, this is just going to suck.

BREAKING: The 2026 World Cup will include 48 teams...

....which means England will now get knocked out by Poundland and Lego Land. pic.twitter.com/Zl1U6c1d5o
— SPORF (@Sporf) January 10, 2017

People complaining are only doing so out of selfish reasons. This is all about improving your odds at winning. Expanding the game will widen the competition. That can be a good thing.

"If you’re the United States or Mexico and purely looking out for your self-interest, an expanded World Cup means it will be almost impossible to miss out on qualifying for the tournament, as Mexico nearly did for 2014 and as the U.S. may be on its way to doing for 2018 after losing its first two games in the CONCACAF Hexagonal."

http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/01/10/fifa-world-cup-expansion-48-teams-2026-gianni-infantino

If it ain't broke...

That ship has sailed, but lots of people are still face-palming.