"We came to conclusion, yes it's feasible to move from 32 to 48 teams at the World Cup provided certain conditions are met.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arab Emirates are all potential options yet rancorous diplomatic disputes has led to the tiny Gulf state being politically isolated from many of its former allies.Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will need to end their diplomatic blockade of Qatar launched in 2017 if they want to be involved, FIFA's feasibility study said.
"The Gulf Crisis is not going to solved by playing football," said James Dorsey, a researcher at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "We will work with FIFA to determine whether or not a viable operating model does exist and importantly, whether it is in the best interests for football and for the tournament, and for Qatar as the host nation," a spokesman for Qatar 2022 said.FIFA, meanwhile, have been told that the leading European clubs will boycott a Club World Cup expanded to 24 teams in 2021 which was also given the go-ahead at the meeting in Florida.