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| Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live connected BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings - Full sum details |
Fifa is to reconsider the format of the 2026 World Cup successful the United States, Mexico and Canada, says president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino said that would beryllium looked astatine aft the "success" of the four-team groups astatine the 2022 World Cup successful Qatar.
"Here the groups of 4 person been perfectly incredible," said Infantino.
"Until the past infinitesimal of the past lucifer you would not cognize who goes through.
"We person to revisit oregon astatine slightest re-discuss the format. This is thing that volition surely beryllium connected the docket successful the adjacent meeting."
The radical stages successful Qatar included immoderate breathtaking last games arsenic countries tried to unafraid a top-two spot to suffice for the past 16.
The four-team radical format, with the apical 2 going done to the knockout stages, has been utilized since the men's World Cup expanded to 32 teams successful 1998.
The champion World Cup ever - Infantino
Infantino was speaking astatine a quality league successful Qatar aft attending a Fifa assembly meeting.
With the third-place play-off and last to go, helium said 3.27 cardinal spectators had attended the games compared with an wide 3.3 cardinal astatine the 2018 World Cup successful Russia.
"Thanks to everyone involved, Qatar, each the volunteers to marque this the champion World Cup ever," said Infantino.
"Matches person been played without incidents. It has been a precise joyful atmosphere.
"There is thing happening erstwhile we speech astir shot becoming genuinely global, with an African squad [Morocco] reaching the semi-final for the archetypal time.
"We besides had a pistillate [Stephanie Frappart] referee a lucifer for the archetypal time.
"It has been an unthinkable success, approaching 5 cardinal successful presumption of viewing figures. The fans gathering the Arab world, it has been precise important for the aboriginal of each of us."
A fig of European nations planned to deterioration a OneLove armband during matches to beforehand diverseness and inclusion but did not bash truthful because of imaginable sanctions from satellite shot governing assemblage Fifa.
Germany manager Hansi Flick said his players covered their mouths during the squad photograph earlier their World Cup opener against Japan "to convey the connection that Fifa is silencing" teams.
"When it comes to regulations, prohibitions, it is not astir prohibiting, it is astir respecting regulations," said Infantino.
"Everyone is escaped to explicit beliefs arsenic agelong arsenic it is done successful a respectful mode but erstwhile it comes to the tract of play, you request to respect and support football.
"There are 211 shot teams, not heads of state, and their fans privation to travel and bask football. This is what we are present for. I judge we are defending values, defending quality rights, defending rights of everyone successful Fifa, successful the World Cup.
"But I besides judge these fans who travel to the stadium and each those billions watching connected TV possibly - and we should deliberation astir that - they consciousness everyone has their ain problems, they conscionable privation to walk 90 minutes without having to deliberation astir thing other than conscionable enjoying a small infinitesimal of pleasure, joyousness oregon emotion."
'A bequest of exploitation and shame'
Qatar's attraction of migrant workers, on with its stance connected same-sex relationships and its quality rights record, were among the main controversies overshadowing the build-up to the World Cup.
The main enforcement of the Qatar World Cup was criticised by Human Rights Watch for displaying "a callous disregard" when helium said "death is simply a earthy portion of life" erstwhile asked astir a migrant worker's decease astatine the tournament.
Human Rights Watch besides said the 2022 World Cup was "ending with nary committedness from Fifa oregon Qatari authorities to remedy abuses, including unexplained deaths, that migrant workers suffered to marque the tourney imaginable implicit the past 12 years".
Human rights organisations and a fig of shot associations have been asking Fifa to found a compensation fund for migrant workers and their families, arsenic good arsenic the constitution of a migrant idiosyncratic centre successful Doha.
"Unless Fifa and Qatar supply a remedy for the widescale unaddressed abuses suffered by migrants who prepared and delivered the tournament, they volition person chosen to permission down a bequest of exploitation and shame." said Rothna Begum, elder researcher astatine Human Rights Watch.
Infantino said: "For america each nonaccomplishment of beingness is simply a calamity and immoderate we could bash to alteration the authorities to support the concern of the workers, we did it and it happened. Whatever we tin inactive bash for the future, we are doing it.
"We privation to bring this acquisition into the aboriginal and marque definite we tin assistance and leverage the World Cup and spotlights connected it to marque lives of radical and their household a spot better."
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