FORMER FIFA president Sepp Blatter has reiterated his view that World Cups should be staged in one country rather than co-hosted by multiple nations.

Blatter, 82, said football’s world governing body is now interested in co-hosted World Cups because it wants to increase the tournament to 48 teams.
A decision on the hosts of the 2026 World Cup will be made on June 13.
United States, Canada and Mexico have made a joint bid while Morocco has also bid to host the event.

“To have three big countries together … they have proved they can host it alone, so why are the three together?” Blatter told Mani Djazmi, from the BBC’s World Football programme.

Disgraced former president Blatter was in charge of football for 17 years until he was banned amid a corruption scandal in 2015.
The World Cup has only been staged in more than one country once when it was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002, a tournament Blatter says was a “nightmare in organisation”.

He said joint bids were denied from Libya and Tunisia for the 2010 tournament, and Spain and Portugal, and Belgium and the Netherlands for 2018, because of a decision from FIFA not to consider a “combined organisation”.

Blatter has also criticised a taskforce introduced for the 2026 bidding process which has the power to exclude a bid to host the competition before the vote at FIFA’S congress.
“They cannot do that,” Blatter said.

“Even if one of the candidates is not a good one, they have the right to be at the congress.
“That’s why I’m advocating that Morocco has to go to the congress. Morocco cannot be kicked out before the congress.” (BBC Sport).