Former Portugal and Real Madrid winger, Luis Figo has said he will be looking to increase the number of teams participating in the World Cup from 32 to 48 if elected as President of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA).
The 42-year old made this known while releasing his manifesto as Wembley Stadium, UK, proposing the staging the organisation of two 24-nation tournaments simultaneously on two continents, preceding a knock out phase in one nation.
He said:
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Both these options are feasible with an extra three to four days of tournament play. If this expansion were to take place I believe that additional teams should come from non-European nations.
We not only make sure that we include more countries from across the world, but also enable FIFA to raise significant increased revenues that can be used to invest in the growth of the game globally.
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The ex-Barcelona also proposed the distribution of half of FIFA’s financial largess, some $2.5 billion (2.19 billion euros) directly to member association for the development of grassroots football.
Figo also called for the reversal of the offside rule which sees a player judged offside whether or not he was involved directly in play.
Figo is one of the three – including President of the Dutch Football Federation, Michael van Praag and Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein – candidates looking to upstage current President Sepp Blatter at the Friday, May 29, 2015 election.
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