European clubs call on Fifa not to expand 32-team World Cup

FILE- In this Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 file photo, FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a news briefing ahead of the draw for the soccer Confederations Cup 2017, in Kazan, Russia. AP

NYON, Switzerland—Europe’s top clubs are calling on FIFA President Gianni Infantino not to expand the World Cup from its 32-team format.

European Club Association chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says the number of games played each season “has already reached an unacceptable level.”

Rummenigge says he wrote to Infantino on Friday, ahead of a possible Jan. 10 expansion decision by the FIFA Council.

Infantino wants 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup, adding 368 players committed to national-team duty for at least one month.

A bigger and more lucrative World Cup would help fulfill Infantino’s election promises to FIFA’s 211 member federations.

Rummenigge says “politics and commerce should not be the exclusive priority in football.”

The 220-member ECA’s research said European clubs employed 76 percent of players at the 2014 World Cup.