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Blatter against Euro expansion
ZÜRICH (SW) - FIFA president Joseph Blatter sees no future in the idea adopted by many parties to increase the amount of participating nations at European Champions from 16 to 24.
The plan was received positively by most involved, and the fifty domestic FA's are expected to put things on paper at a UEFA meeting on September 25th and 26th.
But if it's up to Blatter, things will stay as they are. Blatter worries about the fact that if this is to go through, almost half of Europe's member states would make an appearance at the final tournament.
Blatter feels that this would have a negative effect on the qualification tournament, which would be completely devalued, according to the chairman.
The European Championships have undergone several expansions in its history, from four, to eight and eventually to sixteen countries in 1996.
A 24-participants structure would be a repeat of the World Cup structure from 1982 to 1994. The teams are divided into six groups, and the top two of each group advances to the round of sixteen. The four best numbers three survive the group phase as well.
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