FIFA vote to make the men's Football World Cup bigger from 2026

From 2026 the number of teams competing at the world cup will rise from 32 to 48 after a vote by FIFA, the body in charge of world football.

The format of the tournament will now also change and instead of going into groups of four the 48 teams will be placed in groups of three with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the next round of knock-out games.

FIFA have said that the tournament will still be only be 32 days long and the eventual winner will still only have to play 7 games to be crowned champions.

There have been many people for and against these changes but it is hoped that adding more teams will give England, Northern Island, Scotland and Wales a better chance of qualifying.