Abu Dhabi: Fifa want to scrap the Confederations Cup and make the Club World Cup bigger, according to reports in Spanish sports daily Marca.
The ‘Super Club World Cup’ would incorporate 24 teams, 17 more than the current seven, and last 20 days as opposed to the current 10.
Europe (Uefa) would be allocated 12 of the 24 berths, making it the largest confederation represented. South America (Conmebol) would get five slots, and Asia (AFC), Africa (Caf) and North America (Concacaf) would all get two, while Oceania (OFC) gets just one.
The last four Uefa Champions League winners would qualify along with the last four finalists, or by being a team with the best coefficient. Similar systems would be in place for the other confederations but have not been confirmed yet.
The tournament would be divided into eight groups of three, with the first place finishers in each progressing to a quarter-final.
This isn’t likely to be introduced until the summer of 2021 however, and would thereafter be held every four years. Like the Confederations Cup, the tournament would be held the year before a World Cup, hosted by the World Cup hosts. Given the time of year and heat in Qatar — who are hosting World Cup 2022 — this could become an issue, therefore China has been tipped as a possible alternative place to start the new format.
In the current format of seven teams, a play-off to the quarter-final between the local hosts and OFC Champions League winners filters into a quarter-final where they meet the AFC, Caf and Concacaf champions, Uefa and Conmebol champions don’t come into play until the semi-final.
