FIFA – Football Flame

14Mar

By Football FlameNo Comments

FIFA enlarges 2026 World Cup to 48 teams with 104 matches to be played

FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends during the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Norwich City at The Den on March 4, 2023 in London, United Kingdom.FIFA on Tuesday confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be played with 48 teams divided into 12 groups, and will have 104 matches up from 64. “… the FIFA Council unanimously approved the proposed amendment to the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition format from 16 groups of three to 12 groups of four with the top two and eight best third-placed teams progressing to a round of 32. “The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams,” FIFA said in a statement. The FIFA Council on Tuesday met before the 73rd ...

28Feb

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FIFA, Lionel Messi, NEWS, PSG

Messi wins Best Fifa men’s player award

Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC) wins The Best FIFA Men's Player trophy during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 at Concert hall Salle Pleyel, Paris, France on February 27, 2023 in Paris, France.Argentina and Paris St-Germain forward Lionel Messi has been named men’s player of the year at the 2022 Best Fifa Awards. The 35-year-old beat French forwards Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the prize. Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, and scored 27 goals in 49 games for club and country in 2021-22. Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas was named women’s player of the year. Messi, who won the award for a second time, said: “It’s amazing. It’s been a tremendous year and it’s an honour for me to be here and win this award. Without my team-mates I wouldn’t be here...

10Feb

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FIFA, Lionel Scaloni, NEWS

World Cup winner Scaloni leads FIFA ‘Best’ coach award shortlist

Lionel Scaloni takes an honorary kick-off prior to the La Liga Santander match between RCD Mallorca and Real Valladolid CF at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix on January 07, 2023 in Mallorca, Spain.Argentina’s World Cup-winning coach Lionel Scaloni, Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola were named as FIFA’s finalists for the 2022 ‘Best’ coach of the year award on Thursday. Scaloni harnessed Lionel Messi’s powers as a battling Argentina impressed at the Qatar World Cup, while Ancelotti’s Real Madrid also showed depth of character in a series of comebacks to eventually win the Champions League. Lyon’s Champions League winner Sonia Bompastor, Brazil’s Pia Sundhage and Sarina Wiegman, who led England to Euro 2022 glory, were the final three in the women’s category. Former ...

16Dec

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FIFA, Gianni Infantino, NEWS

FIFA announce 32-team Club World Cup from 2025

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks to media during the Press Conference ahead of the Third Place and Final matches of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at the Main Media Center on December 16, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.Speaking in a press conference ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that from 2025 the Men’s Club World Cup will switch to a 32-team tournament format. Following a FIFA council session which made Infantino late for his appearance in front of the press, the president announced a number of changes to FIFA competitions going forward, as well as the naming of Morocco as hosts for the current 2022 Club World Cup which will take place in February. Infantino said the following, as transcribed by RMC Sport: “The new Men’s Club World Cup will t...

19Nov

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FIFA, NEWS, World Cup 2022

FIFA Tech Promises Faster, More Accurate Offside Decisions in Qatar

Referee Szymon Marciniak of Poland looks at the VAR screen during the Referees Media Day ahead of the official start of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Qatar Sports Club on November 18, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.VAR offside decisions will be quicker and more accurate at the World Cup after the introduction of new technology developed by FIFA over the last three years, referees chief Pierluigi Collina said on Friday. The “semi-automatic offside technology” will rule on even the tightest offside decisions more quickly than under the previous system and a 3D animated rendering of the incident will be broadcast for fans in the stadium and on TV. “(It) gives us the possibility to be faster and more accurate in terms of decisions about offside,” Collina told reporters in a briefing ahead of the tournamen...

18Nov

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FIFA, Qatar, World Cup 2022

Qatar stuns FIFA by calling for ban on beer being sold in World Cup 2022 stadiums

A pair of goalkeeper gloves around the ball in the middle of the Al Dana Tower ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at on November 18, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. FIFA are under pressure to ban all alcohol sales at World Cup stadiums just days before the tournament kicks off.The Qatari royal family have made their feelings clear which could have huge implications. They want FIFA to stop selling Budweiser, one of the organisation’s biggest sponsors, at eight different stadiums, which would be in breach of a multi-million dollar contract.Budweiser’s visibility could be massively diluted with the potential u-turn coming at such short notice. It remains unclear whether beer will be sold at stadiums, with the opening game kicking off on Sunday. The only guaranteed place that will s...