Gianni Infantino wants the men's World Cup to be staged every THREE years after the commercial success of Qatar 2022.
FIFA are believed to have recorded revenues of £6.2billion - an increase of £840million from the Russia World Cup - and that's persuaded president Infantino to have a rethink of the format. The Qatar World Cup was the first to be held during a European winter.
Infantino has already confirmed FIFA will reconsider the format of the next World Cup, due to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026. That tournament will be the first to feature 48 teams, an increase of 16 from this year's edition.
Although the Qatar World Cup was heavily criticised due to the Arab country's poor human rights record, it was a massive commercial success for world football's governing body.
Thus, as first reported by the Daily Mail, Infantino wants to have the competition take place more often and has hatched plans to make it every three years - having seen FIFA chief Arsene Wenger's previous push to make it a bi-annual event fall by the wayside.
Infantino believes that arguments for more winter World Cups - which disrupt the traditional European football calendar - will have only strengthened after Qatar 2022 and gives him fresh impetus to push through changes he believes can be financially beneficial to FIFA.
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No changes will be possible until after the 2030 World Cup due to dates being pencilled in, but Infantino isn't going anywhere. He wants to remain in charge of FIFA until at least 2031 and is set to be unchallenged in February's presidential election.
A World Cup every three years would allow FIFA to stage more tournaments in the winter and in warmer climates, such as Qatar. It's believed Saudi Arabia, for instance, are interested in co-hosting the 2030 tournament with Egypt and Greece.
Yet it will also allow FIFA to make a shed load of cash. UEFA are the wealthiest governing body in football thanks to the commercial success and popularity of the Champions League, with Infantino looking at ways to make FIFA just as rich.
Hosting the World Cup and Club World Cup every three years would significantly boost FIFA's revenue streams. Infantino has already announced his plans to host the Club World Cup every three years from 2025, yet there is little support for this from Europe.
It's also claimed there isn't much desire for a World Cup every three years from Europe and the Americas. If Infantino's alleged plans are approved, World Cups could be hosted in 2030 and 2033, Club World Cups in 2031 and 2034, and the Euros in 2032. FIFA have not commented on the alleged plans.
Infantino confirmed FIFA would reconsider the World Cup format for 2026 ahead of Sunday's final. There were plans to divide the 48 qualified nations into 16 groups of three, yet FIFA may shelve this idea after the success of four-team groups in Qatar.
Infantino said: "Here the groups of four have been absolutely incredible. Until the last minute of the last match you would not know who goes through. We have to revisit or at least re-discuss the format. This is something that will certainly be on the agenda in the next meeting."
Infantino went on to claim: "Thanks to everyone involved, Qatar, all the volunteers to make this the best World Cup ever. Matches have been played without incidents. It has been a very joyful atmosphere.
"There is something happening when we talk about football becoming truly global... It has been an incredible success, approaching five billion in terms of viewing figures. The fans meeting the Arab world, it has been very important for the future of all of us."
