PARIS: The Women’s World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 teams, like the men’s competition, starting with the 2031 edition, FIFA announced on Friday.

The FIFA Council unanimously agreed to enlarge the competition “given the remarkable recent strides made by women’s football across the world,” the sport’s governing body said in a statement.

The 48-team tournament will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 and extending the tournament by one week, FIFA said.
FIFA have still to ratify the 2031 and 2035 hosts.

The 2027 tournament in Brazil will remain at 32 teams.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the move followed the success of the 2023 World Cup in Australia won by Spain.

The 2023 tournament was “the first in which teams from all confederations won at least one game and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stage, among many other records, set a new standard for global competitiveness,” said Infantino.

“This decision ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women’s football globally.

“This is not just about having 16 more teams playing ... but taking the next steps in relation to the women’s game in general by ensuring that more FIFA Member Associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women’s football structures.”

The decision, FIFA said, will broaden representation, offering more nations and players access to elite competition and accelerating investment in women’s football worldwide.

The men’s tournament will be expanded to 48 teams for the World Cup in 2026, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

MIAMI: Inter Miami embark on the first of back-to-back road trips in five days when they take on host Minnesota United on Saturday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The Loons (5-2-4, 19 points) will play Miami for only the second time ever and enter the contest a distant second in the Western Conference.

Minnesota is balancing league play with its push to try to win the US Open Cup, as it advanced to the Round of 16 on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over USL Championship club Louisville City FC.

Inter Miami (6-1-3, 21 points) enter the match in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. They were eliminated 3-1 by Vancouver in the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup on April 30.

Miami can narrow its focus to league play over the next few weeks and try to continue making up ground in the standings coming off a 4-1 win over the New York Red Bulls last Saturday.

“We’re going to fight for the top spots in the Eastern Conference, and then we’ll see what comes (over the summer) with the Club World Cup and the Leagues Cup,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said this week. “But right now, the most important game is the next one.”

Lionel Messi scored in Miami’s victory Saturday as did Luis Suarez, breaking droughts of four games across all competitions without goals for the two soccer legends.

Darius Randell scored the lone goal in the 65th minute against Louisville on an assist from Sang Bin Jeong.

Saturday’s game will feature a reunion of sorts as recently acquired midfielder Julian Gressel will face his former club, which waived him last month. Gressel started 31 games for Inter Miami last season.

“I’ve been waiting for this ever since I knew what my situation was in Miami and that was pretty early on,” Gressel told Minnesota reporters recently.

“They laid a pretty clear picture out for me, and I appreciated that, so we could try and come up with a solution. It took longer than I thought, but ultimately, I’m happy to be here.”