13 football associations slam UEFA chief over World Cup remarks

Thirteen football associations on Sunday issued a sharp rebuke of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin for reportedly dismissing expanded FIFA World Cup matches as uninteresting, accusing him of failing to recognize the years of dedication required for qualification.

Ceferin's remarks

Slovenian outlet Zurnal 24 quoted Ceferin as telling a conference in Ljubljana that the expanded 48-team format produces "we have a lot of matches that are completely uninteresting." The UEFA chief acknowledged that "On the other hand, even small countries can participate and feel the pulse of the World Cup, which is a big deal," but maintained the expansion was not beneficial for the sport.

Ceferin told reporters in April that a proposed expansion to 64 teams for the 2030 tournament was "a bad idea" and would damage the qualification process, stating "It is not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it's not a good idea for our qualifiers as well."

Joint rebuke

The associations of Cape Verde, Curacao, Uzbekistan, Congo, Haiti, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and South Africa released a joint statement declaring: "We respectfully but firmly reject these comments. For our countries, there is no such thing as an unimportant World Cup match." They emphasized that the tournament represents a "historic achievement" for debutants like Uzbekistan and Curacao, asserting that football's strength lies in its universality rather than a "select group of nations."

"Every nation that qualifies deserves respect. Every team has earned its place on merit," the statement said. The associations urged the global community to protect the game's inclusive nature.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, featuring 48 countries for the first time in the tournament's history. UEFA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.