FIFA wants 48 teams in Qatar 2022, thinks adding hosts could help

Photo by Marco Rosi/Getty ImagesThe Associated Press recently broke a story about FIFA completing a study into the feasibility of expanding the 2022 World Cup, hosted in the late fall/early winter in Qatar, to 48 teams (up from the current 32). FIFA has already agreed to expand the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, to a 48 team format, but they now want that format change to come four years earlier.

According to the AP, the 81-page study outlines a plan to expand the World Cup by incorporating at least one of Qatar’s neighbors as a host. Apparently, FIFA looked into into stadiums in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait. The intention…