Officials had hoped a neighboring country or countries would volunteer to host 16 matches, but Qatar is diplomatically isolated in the Arab world.
Qatar's Al Wakrah Stadium is one of eight stadiums the small Arab country is building to host the 2022 World Cup. By Jacob Bogage Jacob Bogage National sports writer and blogger Email Bio Follow May 22 at 8:05 PM The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 teams rather than 48, FIFA announced Wednesday, scrapping an expansion plan that would have forced the international soccer tournament to play matches in a neighboring Persian Gulf country.
Kuwait also outlaws alcohol, which would have presented a major conflict for FIFA, which counts Budweiser as a major advertiser. FIFA was going to consider the expansion proposal at a meeting in early June, but on Wednesday, it announced that the plans had been scuttled. The World Cup still is slated to expand to 48 teams in 2026 when Canada, Mexico and the United States will host matches. Critics have said more teams will dilute the competition, painting expansion as a money grab by FIFA’s leaders.
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