FIFA changes show ‘complete disregard’ for domestic leagues – LaLiga

March 15 (Reuters) – FIFA has shown a “complete disregard” for the importance of domestic leagues, Spain’s La Liga has said, after world soccer’s governing body approved a Club World Cup in 32 teams as well as a World Cup expanded to 104 games.

On the eve of its Congress in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, FIFA announced on Tuesday that the 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches instead of the traditional 64, due to the expanded format with 48 participating teams.

World football’s governing body has also approved a 32-team Club World Cup, to be held every four years from June 2025.

“FIFA continues its bad practice of making unilateral decisions on the world football calendar, showing complete disregard for the importance of national leagues and the football community in general,” La Liga said in a statement on Tuesday.

“FIFA completely overlooks the economic damage these decisions are inflicting on leagues around the world. Leagues which were not consulted on any of the changes presented today, in particular on the new annual club competition.”

“These decisions do not take into account the competitive, sporting and economic impact on national leagues, clubs and players, further encumbering an already overloaded calendar. (…) FIFA only takes into account a small group of clubs and players”.

LaLiga added that it and other leagues in the World League Forum (WLF), an organization that represents professional association football leagues, “will analyze FIFA’s decisions and decide on the most appropriate next steps. “.

In December, the WLF criticized the announcement of a 32-team Club World Cup, saying it could have adverse consequences for the football economy and player welfare.

The new match schedules have been approved by the FIFA Council, the world football organization’s top decision-making body.

The FIFA Council is made up of 37 members, including the President, Gianni Infantino, 28 of whom are elected by the member associations. UEFA, the governing body of European football, is also represented on the Council.

Reuters has contacted FIFA for more information.

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing in Spanish by Benjamín Mejías Valencia)