FIFA: "A 40 team World Cup would make the calendar even more unmanageable" (F. Thiriez, EPFL)

"I expressed my strong opposition because the calendar would become even more unmanageable. I hope that this proposal will be cut from the work that is currently taking place, which should only concern the internal reforms of FIFA," said Frederic Thiriez, president of the LFP and the EPFL, about the possibility of increasing the number of teams at the World Cup from 32 to 40, on 15/12/2015.

Frederic Thiriez participated in an informal meeting to discuss the ongoing reforms at FIFA, invited by Markus Kattner, acting secretary general of FIFA and Marco Villiger, acting deputy secretary general at the headquarters of the International Federation, in Zurich (SUI), on 14/12/2015.

"In order to enhance the universality of FIFA and to broaden the base of participation in major competitions, the number of teams participating in the final competition of the men's World Cup should increase from 32 to 40 teams," stated the report of the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee, presented to the Executive Committee of the International Federation on 03/12/2015. FIFA said that its Executive Committee had not…