Bigger is apparently better for FIFA.

The football governing body has elected to change the format of the 2026 World Cup from 32 teams to 48 teams for the first time.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his ruling council agreed that the format will be expanded to include 48 different nations playing in 16 groups of three teams.

This format will replace the current 32-team structure which calls for eight groups of four teams.

This expansion would offer an additional 16 places up for grabs and although the continental allocation has not been confirmed, recent reports suggest a merged qualification for the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL regions.

Instead of 16 teams progressing to the knockout phase, the new format is expected to see 32 teams battle it out.

Here’s how it will look:

(Courtesy: @RobHarris)

According to Rob Harris of the Associated Press this increase in size will generate an additional $975 million ($640 million after cost increases) for FIFA.

Serbian SuperLiga side Partizan Belgrade has been banned from competing in Champions League football or the Europa League for the next three seasons, UEFA confirmed Wednesday.

The ruling is due to a violation of Articles 65(1), 66(1), and 66bis(1) of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations – all relating to unpaid debts.

UEFA ruled that the 2015 champions of Serbia amassed almost $2.6 million in unpaid debts as of this summer, owing the majority to social and tax authorities in Serbia, the Associated Press reports.

The three-year ban was deemed a suitable punishment due to the fact that Partizan failed to recognize unpaid debts on three separate occasions in the last five years.

Partizan fans will have to wait until the 2020-21 season before they have the prospect of seeing their side compete with Europe’s elite.

Fabled Dutch manager Louis van Gaal is reportedly set to retire from coaching after a 30-year career despite receiving a £44-million offer to manage in Asia, according to the Guardian.

The Ex-Manchester United boss has been out of work since leaving in May of 2016 and being replaced by Jose Mourinho, and says that he is now ready to call it a day, citing his family as the reason for his decision.

“I could go there, but I’m still here,” Van Gaal said of a possible overseas move. “So much has happened in my family.”

After leaving Old Trafford, Van Gaal suggested he would look for work elsewhere but has seemingly reconsidered as the Guardian reports, by way of Dutch newspaper the Telegraaf, that the death of his daughter’s husband has changed his mind.

“I thought maybe I would stop, then I thought it would be a sabbatical, but now I do not think I will return to coaching,” he said, as quoted by the Guardian.

The former Netherlands, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Ajax manager has enjoyed a long and trophy-laden coaching career, where he won the Dutch Eredivisie four times with two clubs, La Liga twice, the Bundesliga once, as well as an FA Cup with United, among other pieces of silverware.

He also guided Holland to a third-place finish in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.