FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Friday, December 16, announced a number of key decisions following the FIFA Council meeting.
The FIFA Council meeting was convened ahead of the final two games of the 2022 edition of the World Cup in Qatar to endorse a number of key strategic principles relating to the international match calendars and competitions.
One of the decisions announced by Infantino is the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup tournament that is set to start in June 2025 and is expected to take place after every four years.
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Furthermore, the FIFA Council announced that Morocco will host the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup which will take place from February 1 to 11, 2023.
“The decision for the FIFA World Cup 2030 host will also be made in 2024, with the bid regulations to be published early next year (2023),” part of the statement read.
In regards to women's football, it was agreed that the current international match calendar structure will remain unchanged until 2025.
FIFA also announced that the hosts for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cup will be decided in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
The council also endorsed the creation of a new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, a new FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, and the expansion of the Olympic Games Women’s tournament from 12 to 16 teams.
United Arabs Emirates was announced as the host of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2023 with Seychelles hosting the same tournament in 2025.
“The FIFA Council also unanimously confirmed its agreement with the view of the Governance, Audit & Compliance Committee that the period between 2016 and 2019 does not count as a term of office for the current FIFA President, who is therefore about to end his first term,” FIFA’s statement read.
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