The 23rd World Cup kicks off today with one of the host nations, Mexico meeting South Africa. This will be the first time there will be three host nations – Canada and USA are the other two – the only other time the tournament was shared being in 2002, between South Korea and Japan.

This is not the only ‘first’ of the 23rd World Cup. A record 48 countries will take part, which means a record of 104 matches will be played over the longest period ever – 39 days. The previous seven tournaments featured a much more manageable 32 sides and 40 fewer matches, even though we still had 64 matches over 32 days.

Under the new format there will far too many matches between far too many mediocre sides, something that is certain to diminish the quality and appeal of the most popular sports tournament of the world. The World Cup was the competition for the elite footballing nations, with a few weaker sides also taking part, but now it appears to be suffering from inclusiveness syndrome, and the quality of the spectacle will suffer.

Its latest edition will feature sides from Cape Verde, Curacao, Iraq, Jordan and Uzbekistan, sides of very modest abilities that are unlikely to fill a stadium, excite fans or pull in world TV audiences. The enlarged tournament was the decision of Gianni Infantino, the President of Fifa, who had promised an enlarged tournament in order to help his election. There is no sporting justification for a 48-team World Cup, but Fifa decisions are often dictated by political and financial considerations.

Fifa is now a big business empire that seems to care much more about money than football. Infantino was recently boasting that the 2026 World Cup would make twice as much money as that held in Qatar in 2022. Is this of any interest to fans of the beautiful game? Will the $8.9 billion that will be generated by the 2026 World Cup – almost double the amount generated by the 2024 Paris Olympics – guarantee more exciting and higher quality football?

It will certainly increase the number of dull, uninspiring matches that nobody outside the countries involved would want to watch, but Fifa will not care so long as the money keeps rolling in. This is the only certainty. Ticket prices are 500 per cent higher than those charged in Qatar, with the cheapest ticket for the World Cup final priced at $4,185 and the most expensive $8,680. During the draw, last December, Infantino declared that the 2026 World Cup would be “the greatest event humanity has ever seen.” Infantino knows it will be the greatest event because it will make more money than any other competition in sporting history. It is very doubtful it will be the greatest event as a football spectacle, given Fifa totally unjustified tampering with the 32-team format