World Cup: the Bureau of the FIFA Council says 16 places in Europe, 9 in Africa, 8 in Asia in 2026

16 places (currently 13) for UEFA, 9 (currently 5) for CAF, 8 (currently 4 or 5) for AFC, 6 (currently 4 or 5) for CONMEBOL, 6 also (currently 3 or 4) for CONCACAF 1 (currently 0 or 1) for OFC, and the last 2 places allocated after a play-off system (see below), this is the new proposed distribution of places for the final phase of the World Cup from 2026, on which the Bureau of the FIFA Council agreed upon in Zurich (SUI) on 30/03/2017.

The Bureau of the Council is a body which brings together the FIFA president and the presidents of each of the six confederations (composition below). The Bureau's proposal is subject to approval of by the full FIFA Council (body which replaced the Executive Committee in the new statutes adopted on 26/02/2016), which next meets on 09/05/2017 in Manama (Bahrain), two days before the 67^th Congress of the international federation.

"After 10/01/2017, when the FIFA Council unanimously decided on expanding the FIFA World Cup to a 48-team competition, FIFA, the confederations and the member associations engaged in a consultation process, which resulted in…