ASIA will have eight slots at the 48-team World Cup from 2026 onwards, and the five other confederations of FIFA will also see increases, the FIFA council decided Tuesday.

FIFA said the council approved a proposal from a few weeks ago after an earlier decision to raise the number of participating teams from 32 to 48.

FIFA also confirmed that the final two berths will be determined in a six-team intercontinental mini tournament in late 2025 in the World Cup host nation.

Europe leads the way with 16 slots, while Africa has the biggest gain, from five to nine slots. North, Central America and the Caribbean will have six just as South America, and Oceania one.

Meanwhile, FIFA isn’t quite ready to award the 2026 World Cup to North America, but that outcome seems inevitable. At meetings in Bahrain, FIFA’s ruling council recommended allowing three more months for rival bids to come forward.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada effort had pushed for a fast-track decision this week.

Realistically, however, no other substantial bids are likely to enter the race. Europe and Asia are ineligible because Russia and Qatar will host the next two World Cups. Oceania (namely, New Zealand) isn’t in position for the expanded, 48-team competition. South America is focused on the 2030 tournament, which falls on the 100th anniversary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup. And Africa’s only hope, it appears, is Morocco, which would be hard-pressed to handle such a large event.

FIFA said it plans to select the 2026 host at next summer’s Congress in Moscow — two years earlier than initially planned.

“For us, the most important thing was having an expedited process rather than a two- or three-year [bidding] process, and the council agreed with that,” U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said.

(SD-Agencies)