The report by the AP news agency that Uefa is considering increasing the EM to 32 teams from 2028 has so far not led to any protests. Angry fans didn’t hold up the number 24 at the final at Wembley (so many teams are currently in it), nor did Twitter go crazy. That may be because the European Football Union has not officially confirmed the thought games. Or the fact that nobody expects anything else anyway.
In France five years ago the tournament was expanded from 16 to 24 participants, the Qatar World Cup in 2022 will be the last with 32 teams, and 48 teams will meet in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2024. And how did the football visionary Sepp Blatter once proclaim? At some point there will be “no longer just a world championship, but interplanetary competitions”. Just!
What speaks for or against an increase in the EM
The arguments against or for an increase have been exchanged thousands of times. On the one hand there is the concern of the big associations (and the clubs as employers of the players) about more and more games and more and more stress. And if it is no longer possible in the future for Germany, France and Portugal to play in the same EM group because Moldova, Liechtenstein and Andorra also get a place, the sporting value of the preliminary round is zero.
On the other hand, the European Championship qualification would be upgraded if many more of the 55 Uefa member associations could hope to participate in the tournament, not just the same elite. And, the most important argument: more games means more football on TV means more money for Uefa. So is it going to happen anyway?
At least these arguments are only the obvious part of doing business. The defensive struggle that Uefa is waging against the attacks by the world association Fifa, where President Gianni Infantino tries to get the most valuable pieces of European football out of Uefa and turn them into money himself, must also be considered.
The establishment of a European super league by major Spanish, Italian and English clubs was just the latest escalation – a Fifa man was at the table during the negotiations! After all: Uefa has turned this split project away. Another access to the heart of European football should be the bloated Fifa Club World Cup. Infantino had originally even planned to sell this new format and other FIFA rights to an Arab-Asian financial consortium in which he himself would play a key role. This plan has not worked so far either.
The World Cup could soon take place every two years – Arsène Wenger is paid for this project by Fifa
And now, right in the middle of the current EM, the confirmation of the next project: Fifa is considering holding its World Cup every two years! Of course only in order to “improve the quality of the games around the world”, as the responsible project manager Arsène Wenger, who is paid for such sets by Infantino, has just claimed. There would be hardly any space left for the EM in this FIFA scenario.
What is the point of countering the World Cup megalomania with plans for an inflated EM? Should the tournaments take place at the same time soon? And in the end really on the moon? Above all, it should be about keeping Europe’s associations together. Infantino needs European votes for his projects, and even if he can’t promise everyone a starting place at his 48th World Cup, he just promises: a lot of money! So far the Europeans have stood firm, including the small associations. The prospect of perhaps taking part in a European Championship will certainly be beneficial for loyalty to Uefa.