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UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino attends a news conference after a meeting of UEFA's executive committee, on the eve of the draw of the Euro 2016 finals, in Paris, France, December 11, 2015. Picture: REUTERS/BENOIT TESSIER
BERNE — Fifa presidential candidate Gianni Infantino has suggested expanding the World Cup to 40 teams and that it should follow the example of the European championship by spreading across several countries to share the "honour and benefits".
The Swiss, general secretary of European soccer body Uefa, backed proposed reforms for soccer’s scandal-plagued world governing body that included term limits for the president and leading officials and public disclosure of their remuneration.
Laying out his plans for the February 26 election, the 45-year-old multilingual lawyer proposed that Fifa should aim to distribute half of its revenues directly to its 209-member associations to be spent on the development of the sport.
He is one of five candidates standing in an election taking place amid the worst crisis in Fifa’s history.
Infantino, who was on the committee that helped to draw up proposed reforms for Fifa last year, backed a proposal to restrict the Fifa president and executive committee members to three four-year terms each. Sepp Blatter had been president for 17 years when he was banned last month.
This would ensure a regular influx of new ideas into the institution and would help to tackle public criticism of the organisation, Infantino’s manifesto said. Other suggested measures included "a fully open tendering process for commercial and operational contracts" and a "proper institutional framework to ensure full transparency of money flows".
The four-yearly World Cup involves 32 teams, but Infantino said he wanted to add another eight. "We would be giving eight more countries the possibility to enjoy the World Cup fever in a more passionate way ."
He also proposed a rotation system in terms of which any given continent could stage a maximum of one in every three World Cup tournaments.
He said he would encourage the idea of co-hosting the World Cup by countries in the same region "so enabling several countries to enjoy the honour and benefits of hosting the World Cup".
The idea has been pioneered by Uefa, which will stage Euro 2020 in 13 cities around Europe and co-hosted its tournaments in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, former Fifa deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne of France, South African Tokyo Sexwale and Jordanian former Fifa executive committee member Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein are Infantino’s rivals.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Plan for 40 World Cup teams
BERNE — Fifa presidential candidate Gianni Infantino has suggested expanding the World Cup to 40 teams and that it should follow the example of the European championship by spreading across several countries to share the "honour and benefits".
The Swiss, general secretary of European soccer body Uefa, backed proposed reforms for soccer’s scandal-plagued world governing body that included term limits for the president and leading officials and public disclosure of their remuneration.
Laying out his plans for the February 26 election, the 45-year-old multilingual lawyer proposed that Fifa should aim to distribute half of its revenues directly to its 209-member associations to be spent on the development of the sport.
He is one of five candidates standing in an election taking place amid the worst crisis in Fifa’s history.
Infantino, who was on the committee that helped to draw up proposed reforms for Fifa last year, backed a proposal to restrict the Fifa president and executive committee members to three four-year terms each. Sepp Blatter had been president for 17 years when he was banned last month.
This would ensure a regular influx of new ideas into the institution and would help to tackle public criticism of the organisation, Infantino’s manifesto said. Other suggested measures included "a fully open tendering process for commercial and operational contracts" and a "proper institutional framework to ensure full transparency of money flows".
The four-yearly World Cup involves 32 teams, but Infantino said he wanted to add another eight. "We would be giving eight more countries the possibility to enjoy the World Cup fever in a more passionate way ."
He also proposed a rotation system in terms of which any given continent could stage a maximum of one in every three World Cup tournaments.
He said he would encourage the idea of co-hosting the World Cup by countries in the same region "so enabling several countries to enjoy the honour and benefits of hosting the World Cup".
The idea has been pioneered by Uefa, which will stage Euro 2020 in 13 cities around Europe and co-hosted its tournaments in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, former Fifa deputy general secretary Jerome Champagne of France, South African Tokyo Sexwale and Jordanian former Fifa executive committee member Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein are Infantino’s rivals.
Reuters
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