Gianni Infantino Reportedly Backs 48-Team World Cup Featuring 16 Groups of 3

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is reportedly in favour of changing the format of the World Cup to include 48 teams at some point in the future.

According to Agence France-Presse, the teams would be divided into 16 groups of three under the new format.

In its current form, the World Cup is held with 32 teams divided into groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to a knockout stage.

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Euro 2016 already changed its regular format to accommodate more teams this year, with six groups used in total. 

The addition of eight teams brought down the level of play significantly, and per DW Sports' Jefferson Chase, it was a clear signal the governing bodies of football should consider cutting back on the amount of competitors in the tournaments:

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Whatever UEFA bosses may have said, the primary reason for expanding the European Championship was to make more money. The result is a tournament that is too long and too complicated and that will pit the top teams against one another too early. UEFA hasn't opened the door to upsets by underdogs. It has broken something that never needed fixing.

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But an increase in competing nations has its advantages. More slots would open up for countries with developing football teams, and they can stand to benefit from the experience gained at a major tournament.

It would increase the cash flow, too, and make the odds of a top team missing out on the World Cup even smaller.

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It also means a lot of teams that lack the quality to make a dent on the biggest stage in football would join, making qualification for the World Cup less of an accomplishment.

Maximiliano Bretos of ESPN Radio put it this way:

Qatar has already been confirmed as the host nation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup under the current format, meaning Infantino's proposed changes likely won't be implemented until 2026.

The current qualification system may also need to be changed to pave the way for 16 extra teams to enter the main tournament.