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21 IT was confirmed yesterday that FIFA presi- dent Gianni Infantino's idea to increase the number of participating nations at the finals from 32 to 48 had been approved by delegates in Zurich, with the plans set to be enforced from the 2026 competition onwards. However, the European Club Association, a body representing the interests of clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Mu- nich, Barcelona and Real Madrid, has blasted the move, claiming it is motivated by political rather than sporting intentions. A statement from the body, which represents 220 teams across the continent, said: "The Eu- ropean Club Association reiterates that it is in principle not in favour of an expanded World Cup. "We fail to see the merits to changing the current format of 32 that has proven to be the perfect formula from all perspectives. Ques- tionable is also the urgency in reaching such an important decision, with nine years to go until it becomes applicable, without the prop- er involvement of stakeholders who will be im- pacted by this change. "We understand that this decision has been taken based on political reasons rather than sporting ones and under considerable political pressure, something ECA believes is regret- table. "ECA will analyse in detail the impact and the consequences of the new format and will address the matter at the next meeting of its Executive Board scheduled for the end of Jan- uary." Speaking to Press Association Sport in Oc- tober when the idea gathered pace, Infantino claimed he favoured expansion because he thinks it would "promote football" across the world. One association to welcome the proposed new format was the Scottish Football Asso- ciation, with Scotland having not qualified for the finals since 1998. "We believe this is a positive step, particular- ly for the smaller nations, and will allow more fans across the globe to revel in their country's participation at a FIFA World Cup finals," said SFA chief executive Stewart Regan. "This will also allow these nations to invest further in their footballing infrastructure and youth development, which in turn can yield significant social benefits. "The exploits of Wales, Iceland, and North- ern Ireland at Euro 2016 showed what an im- pact the smaller teams can have, and how ben- eficial to a tournament their participation can be. A greater eclectic mix of footballing cul- tures at the FIFA World Cup will create a big- ger and better atmosphere than ever before." However, there was plenty of scepticism from others on Tuesday afternoon as the news was digested. New FIFA Now, a campaign group founded by, among others, MP Damian Collins that is seeking change in the way the governing body operates, claimed the plans were "a money and power grab". "It will dilute the competitiveness of the tournament and, therefore, the enjoyment of fans," read a statement on their website. "It will not help development of the game or provide improved competitive opportuni- ties for lower-ranked nations. Instead, it will make a mockery of the qualification process for most confederations. "It is a money grab and power grab. The aim is to increase revenue in order to fund the extravagant election promises of the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, as well as to con- solidate Infantino's personal position. This is straight out of the (former FIFA presidents) Joao Havelange and Sepp Blatter playbooks." Concern was also expressed in Spain, where La Liga president Javier Tebas fumed about what he suggested was a lack of consultation between Infantino and the clubs. "Infantino behaves like Blatter," he told L'Equipe. "He also made decisions alone without con- sulting anyone about them and I'm very angry. It is easy to expand this competition without having to pay the players. The football indus- try is maintained thanks to clubs and leagues, not FIFA." FIFA's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026 will give more nations the opportunity to make their debuts on the game's biggest stage. FIFA is yet to reveal how the 16 extra quali- fication places will be allocated, but each con- tinent is set to benefit from them, with Africa and Asia in particular expecting a significant increase on their current opportunities. Based on the current FIFA rankings, we pick out one team from each continent who could be in line to benefit most from the finals' im- pending new format: ICELAND: FIFA president Gianni Infantino cited Iceland's stunning performance at Euro 2016 as a good reason to make more World Cup places available. The closest they came to reaching the finals was in 2014, when they finished second in Group D but lost a two- legged qualification play-off against Croatia. Currently ranked 12th in Europe, Iceland are one of the nations who stand to benefit most. BURKINA FASO: The Stallions may not have reached a World Cup finals, but they came agonisingly close in 2014 when they lost a play-off against Algeria on away goals - with the Algerians going on to push Germany to extra-time in the last 16. Currently ranked the seventh best team in Africa, they reached the final of the 2013 African Nations Cup. UZBEKISTAN: Having played their first match in 1992 following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan advanced quickly, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2006 finals after a controversial loss to Bah- rain, and reaching the fourth round of Asian qualifying in both 2010 and 2014. Continuing their climb up the ranks, they are currently ranked fifth best on their continent. PANAMA: Panama came close to advancing to a qualifying play-off against New Zealand in 2014 before two stoppage time goals by the United States saw them eliminated from the final round of CONCACAF qualifying. As well as consistently reaching the final group stage, Panama have also finished runners-up in both the 2005 and 2013 Gold Cups. VENEZUELA: The perennial whipping boys of South American football, Venezuela are the only one of the major nations on their conti- nent never to have qualified for a World Cup finals, but they have shown signs of stirring, finishing fourth at the 2011 Copa America and reaching the quarter-finals in 2016. TAHITI: Tahiti stand to benefit most from any increase in Oceania's World Cup finals opportunities, having clearly established themselves as the continent's third best team behind Australia - who currently play in Asian qualifying - and New Zealand. Winners of the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, they subsequently competed at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. Sport FOOTBALL maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 11 JANUARY 2017 Ronaldo wins FIFA's player of the year award CRISTIANO Ronaldo won FIFA's player of the year award for the fourth time on Mon- day, beating his old rival Lionel Messi who was pulled out of the ceremony only a few hours earlier by his club Barcelona. Italian Claudio Ranieri won the coach of the year award for leading rank outsid- ers Leicester City to the English Premier League title. Ronaldo was rewarded for his perfor- mance in 2016 when he won the Champi- ons League with his club Real Madrid and then Euro 2016 with Portugal. Five-times winner and four-times runner-up Messi was second and Frenchman Antoine Griez- mann third. Barcelona said that Wednesday's game against Athletic Bilbao would take priority over the ceremony and that none of their invited players would travel, which disap- pointed Ronaldo. "I would like Messi to have been here to- day but they have an important game on Wednesday and we can understand that," he said after accepting the award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. "I don't have much more to say, I think the awards speak for themselves," he add- ed. "I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games." FIFA, which organised the award jointly with France Football magazine from 2010 to 2015 when it was named the Ballon d'Or, rebranded it as "The Best" this year after splitting with the French publication. France Football continued with its own award which was also won by Ronaldo last month. The ceremony, previously held at the Kon- gresshaus theatre in central Zurich, this year took place in the much more modest setting of a television studio on an indus- trial estate near the airport. Ronaldo previously won in 2008, 2013, 2014 with Messi second on each occasion. Messi won from 2009-12 and then again in 2015 with Ronaldo second on every occa- sion except in 2010 when Andres Iniesta was runner-up. Ranieri said he was "crazy" after winning the coach's award ahead of Fernando San- tos, who led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title. "I am crazy now," he said. "What hap- pened last season in England was some- thing strange. The football gods said Leicester must win." Colombian side Atletico Nacional were given the Fair Play Award for conceding to Copa Sudamericana title to Brazilian side Chapecoense, whose team was decimated when a plane taking to the final crashed, killing 71 people. "We did nothing more than what we had to do....handing them this trophy as a ges- ture of hope," said club president Juan Carlos de La Cuesta. American Carli Lloyd won the women's player of the year award for the second year in a row. Mohd Faiz Subri, of Malaysian Super League side Penang, won the goal of the year award for a 35-metre free kick in which the ball dipped and swung in a bewildering fashion to leave the goalkeeper stranded. Cristiano Ronaldo receives his award from Gianni Infantino' FIFA World Cup expansion decision criticised An association comprising some of the top clubs in Europe has criticised The FIFA Council's backing for an expanded 48-team World Cup