FIFA are considering the possibility of expanding the World Club Cup into either a 16 or 24 team tournamentin order to nullify the threat of a potential breakaway European League.
As reported by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo,the idea was suggested to FIFA president Gianni Infantino at a recent meeting with directors of the tournament's current holders, Barcelona.
A proposal favoured by the recently appointed chiefwould see the annual competition adopt a format similar to that of the World Cup, which of course takes place every four years.
With FIFA's reputation in tatters, Infantino is eager to rebuild the organisation's image viaa new approach, and is obviously desperate to move away from the dodgy dealings of his predecessor Sepp Blatter.
The tournament in question is currently contested in December, often in Japan, with the United Arab Emirates and Morocco also hosting the winners of the Champions League and its equivalent from Asia, Africa, North America, Oceania and South America. These various teams arealso joined by the host country's league winners.
Currently Europe's elite side do not enter the competition until the semi-final stage, with the club's domestic fixture list reshuffled accordingly, although disruption tends to be minimal with a number of European leagues enjoying a winter break at the time.
However amid talk of Europe's top clubs forming a breakaway league, FIFA's president is eager to make the tournament a more lucrative option by increasing its participants, in a move that will see the competition take place every two years.
Infantino's plan comes as the second compromise offered to the continent's most powerful clubs after UEFA previously guaranteed the Bundesliga, La Liga, the Premier League and Serie A four entries into the group stages of the Champions League.