UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin faces criticism from World Cup teams after reported remarks that expanding the tournament to 48 teams for the 2026 finals would lead to “uninteresting” matches and dilute the quality of the competition. The comments are described across multiple outlets as being made ahead of the tournament, with Ceferin reportedly arguing that the format change could reduce the tournament’s overall appeal.
BBC Sport reports that teams reject the criticism, while The Athletic similarly frames the response as a rejection of Ceferin’s assessment of the expanded format. NDTV and Daily Sabah also report that Ceferin’s comments have sparked backlash, with the dispute centring on whether the additional teams will affect match quality and viewer interest.
All accounts reference the same key element of the controversy: the planned increase from 32 teams at the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament. The outlets also converge on the central message of the criticism—that some matches are described as lacking appeal—though they differ mainly in how they characterize the scale and tone of the response.
