FIFA Increases Squads To 26 Players For 2022 World Cup in Qatar
There’s good new for all football teams participating in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the world footballing body FIFA has given the green light for participating teams to have 26 players feature at the tournament.
In addition to this, managers will now be able to name all 26 players in their matchday squads with each country allowed to select from the 15 players not starting.
Players competing at the first-ever winter World Cup will not be able to represent their clubs after November 13 with the tournament set to begin in Qatar on November 21.
The Premier League will remain on break until Boxing Day after the fixtures on November 13.
Managers in charge of teams at the delayed Euro 2020 last summer were allowed to select 26 players in their squads — due to the rise in COVID-19 figures at the time — but three players had to be left out of the matchday squad.
Back in April, England manager, Gareth Southgate had said back that leaving three players out from each matchday squad impacted the squad harmony.
He said: “If the squads are going to be bigger then it needs to be a situation where everybody is able to change on a match day.
“Whether a bigger squad is necessary… originally that was for COVID, there’s now people talking about the condensed fixtures.
“I still think it’s a bigger skill to pick a 23 and to work all that out. But I think everybody has to be available for all the games.”
