Blatter vows to retain 32 team SWC format if re-elected

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ANI Johannesburg
Last Updated : May 16 2015 | 11:57 AM IST

FIFA president Sepp Blatter is opposing any changes in the format of the Soccer World Cup (SWC) and will keep the number of participants to 32 if he's re-elected.

Blatter, who would be standing for a fifth mandate as FIFA president on May 29, is against the proposal of increasing the number of participants in the SWC, made by two of his three challengers, former Portugal forward Luis Figo and Dutch FA president Michael van Praag.

He believes that the present system of having 32 teams in the world cup was the best they could have, adding that it was apt mathematically too as the tournament could be completed in 28 or 30 days, Sport24 reported.

Blatter, who is a favourite to be re-elected as the president, further highlighted the fact that the contracts for the next World Cups were made with only 32 teams as participants.

He also believed that a continent that hosts a World Cup should wait for at least 12 years before staging it again.

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First Published: May 16 2015 | 11:47 AM IST

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