[Snell:] Welcome back to you now as we continue the countdown to football's next men's World Cup, which will take place in November and December of 2022. Now eight years ago, FIFA that's the sport's governing body declaring Qatar as the host nation and, fair to say, the spotlight has been on the Gulf state nation and the build-up to it all ever since. So that now extends to just how many countries will be competing in it. Not content with the current 32-team format, FIFA president Gianni Infantino wanting to expand it to 48 countries in '22, making Qatar co-host with, potentially, Oman and Kuwait. Now, an official decision will be made in June. Meantime, "The New York Times' " Tariq Panja breaking the story earlier, speaking with Don Riddell.
[Tariq Panja, Global Sports Reporter, "new York Times":] As far as the Qataris are concerned and most people are concerned, it's been 10 years of negative headlines. And they're almost there. They've been building these stadiums, spending billions over the last five years to prepare for what is supposed to be the last 32-team World Cup. But Gianni Infantino, for you know, the best part of a year, has been pushing this and pushing this, even even when we thought that this isn't going to happen. He's carried on. What I understand from the Qatari side, at least those who are part of the organizing committee. Very few speak about this openly or publicly. They just want to be left alone to get on with this World Cup, 32-team World Cup. And then and then everyone can see the back of it. But it's kind of like a zombie. It just this story just doesn't stop.
[Don Riddell, Cnn International Anchor:] The idea is they'd share it with Oman and Kuwait. Wouldn't it make more sense to be hosting it with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates?
[Panja:] Yes, absolutely. In a perfect world, it would make a lot more sense, because the infrastructure is there. It would kind of be a turnkey situation. They just hosted the Asian Cup. They've got the stadiums. They've got training facilities, and we've all flown through their airports. So they're kind of ready to go. But you know, the elephant in the room, and it has been for the past two years, has been the Gulf blockade, which has been jointly led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. We haven't seen many signs of that easing. It would be very hard. Can you imagine, under the current circumstances, for the UAE to fly the flag of a Qatar 2022 World Cup? And likewise, we just had the Asian Cup where the Qatari players were pelted with shoes and slippers and God knows what else when they beat the UAE in the Asian Cup final?
[Riddell:] A lot of people might be enthused about the idea of a 48- team World Cup, but I can think of a lot of people who would not be excited, particularly about this one at this time of year. Because we could be talking about 16 more national teams heading to a World Cup during the European season; and God knows how many players would be drawn from clubs who currently didn't think they'd be losing them.
[Panja:] Absolutely. When the plan was first voted the middle of last year, the stakeholders had the biggest gripes were the same clubs and leagues that you mentioned. Because obviously, the World Cup in Qatar, because of the heat, got moved to right in the middle of the European season. And there had to be some serious concessions, including limiting the number of days a tournament has to be played, within 29 days. That's what FIFA promised the European leagues, and that's what got this over the line. Now we're saying still in 29 days, a load more matches. Can we get can we get all of this done? Infantino certainly sees it as something that he wants to. Otherwise, he wouldn't keep pushing it. He hasn't been able to walk pasts a microphone for the past year without saying this is something that he would love to see happen, something that needs to needs to happen. Even though he could have just let it slide back in June when it appeared to be put on ice.
[Snell:] A case of watch this space. Well, 2019 also featuring a Rugby World Cup, with Japan hosting later on this year. But it now looks also as though we could be witnessing a rather radical shake-up to the international calendar as a whole. That's because the sport's governing body is looking to pit the top six teams from both the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres against each other. This would be in a 12-nation global event to be known as the Nations Championship. The idea is the core of the current Six Nations tournament and the Rugby Championship would be maintained, while adding two more countries. It would even feature promotion and relegation from a second-tier international circuit, which based on the current world rankings, would also also include Fiji and Japan, as it stands at the moment. World Rugby, which says it's looking to build a better and stronger game for all, will present its proposals at a key meeting in Dublin next week. Some other big news from the world of Rugby to tell you about concerning the future of New Zealand captain Kieran Read. The 33- year-old has revealed he's to retire now from international duty. This will be after the tournament in Japan, though Japan is a country he'll soon be starting to get used to. That's because Read will leave his current club team, Crusaders, to play for Toyota Verblitz in 2020. Read, who's played 118 times for the All Blacks, was part of New Zealand's all-conquering World Cup winning teams that triumphed in 2011 and 2015. Can they make it three straight titles? We'll see. Now, the next women's football World Cup, that's just about three months or so away in France. England will be heading towards it in pretty confident mood, I'd imagine, having just won the SheBelieves Cup for the first time ever. It's the first trophy, as well, as a manager, for former Manchester United and England player Phil Neville. The English knew that whoever won their final game against Japan would take the trophy, and England did so pretty comprehensively, as it turned out. Lucy Staniforth putting them one up by just past the ten- minute mark. And it would get better for them, before Karen Carney making it two just about ten minutes or so later. England had already beaten Brazil and drawn with the United States of America. This Japan team was young and inexperienced and didn't have too many answers but terrific finish from Beth Mead putting 3-0 up; and the game effectively over at that point. It's funny, a friendly tournament for the record. But nonetheless, it is a trophy for England and a major boost, too, ahead of the World Cup when they'll run into, guess who? That will be Japan again in the group stages.
[Toni Duggan, England Forward:] You know, the major tournament, the World Cup's going to be next level, so we need to go away now. We need to work hard because our job isn't done, you know. We want to go that one step more, and we know it's going to be a lot more difficult. So yay for the team. We're absolutely buzzing. We've won the SheBelieves, but the next one's the World Cup.
[Snell:] Well, thanks for joining us today. For the team here in Atlanta, we'll see you again next time. Bye for now.