Football
Associated Press and ESPN staff 7y

German FA opposes World Cup expansion - Reinhard Grindel

Germany football federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel has said he is against enlarging the World Cup.

Grindel said in an interview published on the DFB website that FIFA proposals to enlarge the tournament from 32 teams to 40 or 48 "have considerable weaknesses that are also clearly shown in FIFA factsheets."

Grindel said: "At the DFB, we're fundamentally convinced that the tried-and-tested model of 32 participating nations should be held. The world championships were always tournaments that inspired -- why should that change?"

The DFB president warned that the quality of the tournament could suffer in football's core markets if more participants are added, and that conflicts could emerge between national teams and clubs "if we overburden the players."

The Times reported on Friday that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to support the move on the proviso that Europe is given extra places in the competition.

Michel D'Hooghe of Belgium also appeared to be demanding an increase in European places as he told the newspaper: "I am a loyal soldier of Europe and we must take care of European interests.

"Now we have 13 teams and if we go from 32 to 48 we need to know what will be the increase for Europe?"

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