Arsene Wenger insists that Fifa has found the “right number” by expanding the World Cup to 48 teams for the first time in 2026.
The former Arsenal manager, now Fifa’s chief of global football development, has long been among the most vocal supporters for the expansion.
Critics argue that the move makes the tournament too long, amid heightened concerns about player welfare, and dilutes the quality.
“We started with 13 teams, after, 16, until in ’82 was the first time with 24 teams. ’98 was the first time with 32 teams. So, the evolution is that always more teams want to participate,” Wenger said.
“And now I believe that 48 teams is the right number. It’s just less than 25 per cent of 211 countries who are affiliated to Fifa.
“That means one team out of four has a chance to participate… [but] still 75 per cent of the teams are not there.
“I’ve just come out of the first time we celebrated the Fifa Under-17 World Cup with 48 countries. And I was a bit scared before because I thought maybe the difference between the teams would be too big.
“In fact, we realised that the difference, quality-wise, between the different countries has been reduced.”
Youth work helping small nations reach World Cup
The expanded 2026 World Cup will see debuts for Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan, who have all qualified for the first time.
Wenger insists football education has helped small countries to challenge on the global stage, while the likes of China and India have not reached their potential.
“The best way to know how good you are is to play against somebody who wants to show you that he’s better than you,” Wenger added.
“And at the end of the day, we know that success in football is not down to the numbers. Croatia, with 3m people, played in a World Cup final and in a semi-final.
“If you look at Uzbekistan, I know that the job they do at youth level is fantastic, the infrastructure they’ve built is unbelievable. Jordan as well, they were one of the surprising teams in the AFC Asian Cup. It’s no coincidence.
“We have made a world study, and we have realised that it’s a 100 per cent correlation with the quality of the youth work and the success in the top team.”