Sports lovers around the world are reacting to the latest news about football -- a game called soccer in the United States. FIFA, the international governing body of football, unanimously voted to expand the World Cup tournament in 2026. FIFA’s voting members agreed to add 16 more teams to the men’s competition. All voting members supported the plan as a way to raise more money for the organization and add excitement to the event. The 2026 World Cup tournament will involve 48 nations. It will also have 80 games, 16 more than in the past. But the eventual winner will still only play seven games. The extra games should result in about $1 billion in additional money for FIFA. That money will come from sponsorships, advertising and deals with broadcasters. Countries in Africa and Asia should receive the majority of the new tournament berths. By May, regional governing organizations will know how many new positions they have been awarded. The newly approved plan will include other changes, too. For example, there will be 16 groups of three teams. The top two teams in each group will earn rights to compete in a 32-team elimination round. Penalty shootouts may be used as tie-breakers in the group games. Some countries think the World Cup will not be as good as in past years because of the increased number of teams. But FIFA officials said they used a computer program to predict the results of 10,000 tournaments. It found that the quality of the event was always decided by the best 32 teams. The announcement is getting mixed reaction.
Title: FIFA Plans to Expand World Cup Field in 2026
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/FIFA_2026.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='FIFA Plans to Expand World Cup Field in 2026' data-article-id='2136'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='14500'>Sports lovers around the world are reacting to the latest news about football -- a game called soccer in the United States.</span> <span data-start-time='14500' data-end-time='29000'>FIFA, the international governing body of football, unanimously voted to expand the World Cup tournament in 2026.</span> <span data-start-time='29000' data-end-time='38375'>FIFA’s voting members agreed to add 16 more teams to the men’s competition.</span> <span data-start-time='38375' data-end-time='51500'>All voting members supported the plan as a way to raise more money for the organization and add excitement to the event.</span> <span data-start-time='51500' data-end-time='59417'>The 2026 World Cup tournament will involve 48 nations.</span> <span data-start-time='59417' data-end-time='67125'>It will also have 80 games, 16 more than in the past.</span> <span data-start-time='67125' data-end-time='74313'>But the eventual winner will still only play seven games.</span> <span data-start-time='74313' data-end-time='84729'>The extra games should result in about $1 billion in additional money for FIFA.</span> <span data-start-time='84729' data-end-time='94833'>That money will come from sponsorships, advertising and deals with broadcasters.</span> <span data-start-time='94833' data-end-time='103958'>Countries in Africa and Asia should receive the majority of the new tournament berths.</span> <span data-start-time='103958' data-end-time='114500'>By May, regional governing organizations will know how many new positions they have been awarded.</span> <span data-start-time='114500' data-end-time='120854'>The newly approved plan will include other changes, too.</span> <span data-start-time='120854' data-end-time='127604'>For example, there will be 16 groups of three teams.</span> <span data-start-time='127604' data-end-time='139167'>The top two teams in each group will earn rights to compete in a 32-team elimination round.</span> <span data-start-time='139167' data-end-time='146708'>Penalty shootouts may be used as tie-breakers in the group games.</span> <span data-start-time='146708' data-end-time='158229'>Some countries think the World Cup will not be as good as in past years because of the increased number of teams.</span> <span data-start-time='158229' data-end-time='168938'>But FIFA officials said they used a computer program to predict the results of 10,000 tournaments.</span> <span data-start-time='168938' data-end-time='178896'>It found that the quality of the event was always decided by the best 32 teams.</span> <span data-start-time='178896' data-end-time='182625'>The announcement is getting mixed reaction.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/FIFA_2026.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=7917 data-hint-location='14500' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/what_does_tournament_mean.m4a'>What does tournament mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a sports competition or series of contests'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/awarding_new_positions.m4a'><span>awarding new positions</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/governing_organizations.m4a'><span>governing organizations</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/a_way_to_raise_more_money.m4a'><span>a way to raise more money</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/a_sports_competition_or_series_of_contests.m4a'><span>a sports competition or series of contests</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=7918 data-hint-location='67125' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/how_many_games_will_the_eventual_winner_play.m4a'>How many games will the eventual winner play?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='seven'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/twelve.m4a'><span>twelve</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/sixteen.m4a'><span>sixteen</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/thirty_two.m4a'><span>thirty two</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/seven.m4a'><span>seven</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=7919 data-hint-location='38375' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/the_plan_is_a_way_to__blank__for_the_organization.m4a'>The plan is a way to <span class='blank'>raise more money</span> for the organization.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='raise more money'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/get_more_sponsors.m4a'><span>get more sponsors</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/include_more_countries.m4a'><span>include more countries</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/add_more_teams.m4a'><span>add more teams</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1618/raise_more_money.m4a'><span>raise more money</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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