FIFA president Gianni Infantino targets 32-team Club World Cup by 2019

Posted Saturday, November 19, 2016 by ESPN

FIFA president Gianni Infantino thinks the mostly unloved Club World Cup could expand to a 32-team tournament played in June.

Infantino said in interviews published on Friday in Italian and Spanish newspapers that a revamped club competition could start in 2019.

A 32-team event played in the last three weeks of June would be more balanced and more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors, Infantino said in comments reported by Gazzetta dello Sport and Mundo Deportivo.

The existing seven-team Club World Cup format in December has been seen as vulnerable in a FIFA review of spending and tournament plans since Infantino was elected president in February.

Currently, the Club World Cup is a little-watched event featuring the champions of FIFA's six continental confederations, plus the host nation's league winner.

Typically, it leads to a final between the champions of Europe and South America. But European fans have shown little interest in a competition that also clashes with their domestic leagues.

The 2015 Club World Cup in Japan earned a little over $20 million in commercial revenue, according to FIFA's most recent financial report. The 2014 edition hosted by Morocco earned $40 million.

Japan hosts next month's edition featuring Real Madrid and Atletico Nacional of Colombia.

The latest FIFA tournament expansion plan comes after Infantino promoting a 48-team World Cup to start in 2026. That decision could be taken by FIFA's ruling council at a Jan. 9-10 meeting in Zurich.

Infantino's latest suggestion also follows speculation that China wants to host more international football as part of a wide-ranging plan to invest heavily in the sport. Last year, Chinese retailer Alibaba E-Auto signed as the Club World Cup title sponsor through 2022.