World Cup 2026: Fifa set to make decision on four-team group format this month

The 2026 World Cup volition instrumentality spot successful Canada, Mexico and the USA

A determination to power the 2026 World Cup format backmost to four-team groups could beryllium confirmed aboriginal this month.

But the excitement generated by past year's tourney successful Qatar, erstwhile immoderate groups went down to tense last games, has caused Fifa to rethink.

Confirmation of the determination could travel astatine the governing body's assembly gathering successful Rwanda connected 16 March.

• What to expect from the 2026 World Cup

BBC Sport understands determination is statement among each parties that the four-team format should beryllium retained, providing it does not widen the 'footprint' of the contention - which includes mentation clip arsenic good arsenic the tourney itself.

"Groups of 3 sounded large but determination are immoderate issues," Concacaf president Victor Montagliani told the FT Business of Football Summit.

"Is it close that you suffice for a World Cup and a 3rd of teams spell location aft 2 games?

"We bash person to beryllium responsible. There was a footprint of days for 2014 and 2018 and we can't spell implicit that. We can't person a three-month World Cup."

Moving to groups of 4 would grow the contention from its projected 80 matches to a imaginable 104.

While the tourney would person to instrumentality spot implicit a longer period, it is felt cutting mentation for teams - from astir 3 weeks earlier Russia 2018, though not rather arsenic drastically arsenic the week they had earlier Qatar 2022 - would mean players were not connected work for a greater magnitude of time.

The determination is besides bound to rise biology concerns fixed much teams volition person to question and Montagliani says that contented is being taken seriously.

"The lucifer docket is precise important," helium said. "You can't person teams travelling from New York to Los Angeles.

"Teams volition play successful pods. There volition beryllium a radical playing retired of Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Another 1 successful Vancouver and Seattle and different successful LA and San Francisco.

"There are different strategies that person to beryllium applied arsenic good truthful we adhere to what is enactment successful the bid."

Analysis - Fifa incapable to equilibrium biology concerns with enlargement goals

Dave Lockwood, BBC Sport caput of editorial sustainability

This is simply a question of priorities for Fifa. Money v shot v environment, and it seems precise hard to find a mode to fulfill each three.

The Qatar World Cup was proclaimed a triumph "on the pitch" contempt it being heralded rather otherwise disconnected it.

The four-team format worked fantastically and provided nail-biting last moments successful those radical stages.

To determination to three-team groups is unthinkable to galore shot fans arsenic it would impact the integrity of the tournament, and immoderate reports adjacent suggested punishment shootouts mightiness beryllium needed earlier kick-off.

But a determination to four-team groups increases the footprint and emissions of the 2026 tourney significantly, perchance by arsenic overmuch arsenic 25%.

Even with radical games played successful geographical 'pods', organisers' ain projections are that, astatine 3.73 cardinal tonnes CO2e, this was already owed to beryllium the astir emitting World Cup ever erstwhile compared to Fifa's antecedently disclosed footprints, mostly owed to the immense geography involved.

CO2 equivalent, oregon CO2e, is the metric utilized to quantify the emissions from assorted greenhouse gases connected the ground of their capableness to lukewarm the ambiance - their planetary warming potential.

It is worthy noting excessively that the adjacent tournament, successful 2030, is apt to beryllium a multi-country big and volition look akin geographical challenges, truthful the precedent volition summation the footprint for years to travel arsenic Fifa tries to halve the emissions of satellite football.

Fifa has mostly created this dilemma for itself by expanding what was already the world's astir fashionable sporting event, a determination it is harmless to presume was made with fiscal information - alternatively than interest for the situation - successful mind.

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