What's happened
Tebas has criticised FIFA president Infantino, calling his tenure “rotten at its core” and arguing for fewer national teams to protect domestic football. He also criticises hydration breaks and a 64‑team World Cup idea, saying the sport’s industry is at risk if decisions focus on the World Cup alone.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- Tebas is positioning himself as a defender of domestic leagues against a perceived overemphasis on the World Cup quality and reach. He frames expansion as economically reckless and warns of long‑term damage to employment in football supply chains.
- The piece highlights a broader tension between global event calendars and local league health.
- This analysis anticipates pushback from FIFA and suggests a potential realignment of power toward national leagues if Tebas’s view gains traction.
Key questions for readers: Will leagues push back enough to influence calendar reform? How will sponsors react if the World Cup expands or hydration policies change? Will Infantino be pressured to change course?
How we got here
The comments follow debate over expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams and criticism of hydration breaks introduced at the 2026 tournament. Tebas argues national leagues sustain football and that leadership reform is needed.
Our analysis
AP News quotes Tebas as criticizing Infantino and the 64‑team expansion proposal, with Al Jazeera and BBC reporting similar criticisms. The Guardian also covers Tebas’s remarks and context from the World Cup.
Go deeper
- What is your take on expanding the World Cup to 64 teams?
- Do you think domestic leagues will gain more influence over FIFA’s calendar?
- How might hydration breaks affect teams’ performance next season?
More on these topics
-
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) - Football organization
FIFA is a non-profit organization which describes itself as an international governing body of association football, fútsal, beach soccer, and efootball. It is the highest governing body of football.
-
La Liga - Football league
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as La Liga, is the men's top professional football division of the Spanish football league system.
-
Javier Tebas - President of La Liga
Javier Tebas Medrano is a Spanish lawyer and the president of Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, the association responsible for administering Spain's two professional football leagues.
-
Gianni Infantino - President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association
Giovanni Vincenzo "Gianni" Infantino is a Swiss–Italian football administrator and the current president of FIFA. He was elected President of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress on 26 February 2016.
-
United States - Country in North America
The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.
-
Balogun - Footballer
Folarin Balogun is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Arsenal.
-
Canada - Country in North America
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest c
-
Mexico - Country in North America
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea
-
Morocco - Country in North Africa
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with land borders with Algeria to the east and Western Sahara to th
-
Argentina - Country in South America
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country located mostly in the southern half of South America. Sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, the country is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the
-
Spain - Country
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southwestern Europe with some pockets of territory across the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean. Its continental European territory is situated on the Iberian Peninsula.