Backing a sign of improved relations between presidents
Tournament expected not to be held every two years
Uefa is ready to back Fifa’s proposed expansion of the Club World Cup to 48 teams for the next edition in 2029 in a sign of improving relations between their respective presidents, Aleksander Ceferin and Gianni Infantino.
European football’s governing body had opposed plans to grow the Club World Cup over concerns an expanded tournament could threaten the status of the Champions League, but Uefa is now willing to back Fifa in return for an undertaking that the competition will not be held every two years.
Real Madrid proposed a two-year cycle for the Club World Cup during talks with Fifa in Miami last June, although given the opposition from Uefa and all the domestic European leagues that idea has not progressed. In a related development Real last week ended their five-year legal battle with Uefa by formally withdrawing from the European Super League,. They appear ready to fall in line with the global football establishment led by Infantino, Ceferin and Nasser al-Khelaifi, the Paris Saint-Germain president who chairs European Football Clubs.
