ROME (ITALPRESS) – Reflections are underway. The World Cup, which concludes tonight with Spain vs. Argentina, was also a tournament of innovations, starting with the much-discussed hydration breaks, whose future is still unclear. “Sometimes people didn’t like them,” acknowledged Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s head of global football development.
“I don’t think they changed the results of matches, but we’re here to serve the people who watch football, and we’ll draw conclusions for the future. At the end of the tournament, we’ll analyze their impact.” Opinions among coaches were divided, with some, like Tuchel, stating their complete opposition, while others, like Garcia and de la Fuente, saw a certain benefit in the breaks.
UEFA has already announced that they will not be adopted in Europe, but TV channels can certainly be satisfied: according to “The Hollywood Reporter,” Fox, the broadcaster that broadcast the World Cup in the United States, earned at least $250 million (€218 million) from advertising space sold for hydration breaks alone.
Wenger, however, fully endorsed the 48-team format: “It was the right decision and it was a great success. We concluded that it was ethically necessary to give a greater number of teams an opportunity.” These words could serve as a prelude to a further expansion to 64 national teams by 2030 or 2034, which Gianni Infantino has already confirmed will be analyzed.
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