FIFA President Proposes Big World Cup Change -- Federations Focus

(ATR) The 2026 World Cup could have a drastic format change if Gianni Infantino’s new proposal is accepted by FIFA’s executive council.

The council will hear FIFA president Infantino’s idea to expand the World Cup to 48 teams during its next meeting from Jan. 9-10. The new proposal would divide the tournament into 16 groups of three where only one team is eliminated from each group, sending 32 teams on to the knockout stage.

Infantino first brought up the idea of the expanded tournament in October, denying that more teams would diminish the quality of the World Cup.

"I would like to remind you that in the last World Cup, England and Italy were eliminated by Costa Rica," Infantino told reporters. "The level of football is increasing all over the world.

"In a 48-team format, the quality would be higher because the 32 teams would have a play off. The quality would improve and not decrease in any way."

If successful, Infantino would bring about the first World Cup expansion since 1998 when the tournament increased from 24 to 32 teams.

IAAF Restructures Diamond League

The International Association of Athletics Federations Diamond League Series is moving to a championship style format.

The new format will begin with the 2017 IAAF Diamond League Final where athletes will compete for a total of $3.2 million in prize money. Each track and field discipline will have $100,000 up for grabs.

Athletes will now earn points through the first 12 Diamond League meetings in order to qualify for the two final athletics meets. Previously, athletes earned points throughout the season with the final winner determined by the greatest number of points collected. The winner of the 2017 finals will now be the overall Diamond League champions.

Organizers say the new format will provide a "dramatic showdown" between the world’s best athletes and a "true climax" to the four-month Diamond League schedule.

While the federation makes changes to its premier circuit, it also continues its fight to strengthen the credibility of its governing structure. On Wednesday, the IAAF extended the provisional suspensions of staffers Nick Davies, Jane Boulter-Davies and Pierre-Yves Garnier until Jan. 31 when the disciplinary investigation will conclude.

The three staffers are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the suspected cover-up of Russian doping cases.

Bach Inaugurates New Gymnastics Home

IOC president Thomas Bach and International Gymnastics Federation president Bruno Grandi opened the federation’s new headquarters in Lausanne on Tuesday.

The inauguration event happened in the evening following the first day of the IOC executive board meetings in the Olympic capital. Many of the executive members attended the ceremony along with Bach.

The new four-story building is completed before FIG president Grandi concludes his fifth and final term at the helm of the federation. The headquarters took 26 months to build and an investment of $16.3 million.

"After 20 years of presidency, I have the pleasure of leaving my successor Morinari Watanabe the keys to a solid federation," Grandi said. "This building is a testament to Gymnastics's growing prestige on the international sports scene."

"I hope that the construction here is a solid foundation," Bach said. "But I'm sure that you have a very solid foundation as far as the sport is concerned, and we saw another demonstration of the power of Gymnastics at the Olympic Games in Rio."

IOC Recognizes New Federations

The IOC gives a nudge to some new sports seeking a place in the Olympic Family.

The International Cheer Union, based in the U.S. and the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur, headquartered in Thailand, win provisional recognition by the IOC. They were the successful applicants from 16 international federations which had submitted dossiers seeking IOC recognition.

IOC sports director Kit McConnell told reporters that the two new sports would have provisional recognition for three years.

The Thai martial art Muaythai, a member of SportAccord since 2006, has 135 affiliate national federations. The cheerleading union includes over 100 national federations.McConnell said the two sports had presented strong cases to the IOC, with both having youth appeal.Under the IOC’s recognition system, both sports become members of the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federations.They will be provided with $25,000 in base development funding. The federations can apply for further grants handed out as part of support programs for IFs. Full recognition is expected to be granted by the IOC Session within the three-year period.

Read more here.

Swimming, Bowling Champs Underway

The International Aquatics Federation and World Bowling are each staging championships this week for the disciplines of short-course and singles, respectively.

The FINA short-course swimming championships began Tuesday and conclude on Dec. 11. The event is taking place in Windsor, Canada in an arena typically used to stage hockey matches.

The 13th edition of the FINA championship is welcoming 1,000 swimmers from more than 170 countries. Organizers expect more than 5,000 spectators daily, causing the ice hockey venue to be chosen over other swimming halls due to lack of seating.

The Bowling World Singles Championship began on Dec. 2 and concludes on Dec. 9 in Doha, Qatar.

Eighty-four of the top male bowlers and 50 of the top women bowlers from 50 different countries will participate throughout the event at Qatar Bowling Centre.

Written by Kevin Nutley and Mark Bisson.

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