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		</div><p>FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani has suggested football might still be blighted by corruption if Russia and Qatar had not been chosen to host the next two World Cups.</p>
<p>Russia will host the next tournament in 2018 and Qatar the 2022 event, with both nations winning the right in a controversial vote almost six years ago.</p>
<p>Since the December 2010 awarding, corruption has been exposed in the global game, with then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter among those now banned.</p>
<p>Montagliani, speaking at the Leaders in Sport conference in London, said: &#8220;If Russia and Qatar wouldn&#8217;t have got these World Cups, would we be in this situation now with an opportunity to clean the game?</p>
<p>&#8220;I think that was the starting point and the tipping point for certain things to happen.</p>
<p>&#8220;If England and the US had got the World Cup, maybe we would&#8217;ve had status quo.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just wondering if the authorities that have stepped up their involvement in the game would&#8217;ve done that if the choices had been a bit different.</p>
<p>&#8220;Maybe the best thing that happened in football was Russia and Qatar.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Canadian Montagliani was elected CONCACAF president earlier this year, following the disgraced Jeffrey Webb as leader of North American, Central American and Caribbean football.</p>
<p>Montagliani is also an ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who was named Blatter&#8217;s successor in February.</p>
<p>Infantino has raised the prospect of expanding the World Cup from 32 teams to 40 &#8211; and now 48.</p>
<p>FIFA, which governs 211 nations, who all take part in World Cup qualifying, is expected to decide on the format for the 2026 tournament early next year.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s obvious it&#8217;s not going to stay at 32 for 2026. I think it&#8217;s going to change,&#8221; Montagliani added.</p>
<p>&#8220;If we listened to traditionalists we&#8217;d still have a 16-team World Cup.<br />
&#8220;And there is a balance. You don&#8217;t want 211 countries in a World Cup either.</p>
<p>&#8220;But the reality is that the World Cup is such a strong brand and inspires a lot of hope and inspiration in countries.</p>
<p>&#8220;For them just to dream about it, never mind get a piece of it, provides a lot of groundswell in those countries to promote the game.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s an opportunity and I think the president&#8217;s right to really look at it.</p>
<p>&#8220;Should it expand? I think the answer is probably yes. I think now is, &#8216;What&#8217;s the format?'&#8221;</p>
<p>Montagliani says the United States, Canada and Mexico could host the World Cup themselves, but a regional bid is possible, too.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s time it does come back to CONCACAF. We haven&#8217;t had it since 1994 (USA),&#8221; Montagliani added.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to prejudice their own individual positions, but as CONCACAF president I don&#8217;t see any negatives in terms of a regional bid.&#8221;</p>
<p>CONCACAF has struggled with corruption perhaps more than any other of FIFA&#8217;s six confederations, with Montagliani seeking to address the troubles and the image with the appointment of a first chief compliance officer and a potential re-naming of the organization.</p>
<p>&#8220;No longer can a president or anyone else do things on a wink and a nod,&#8221; Montagliani said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Right now (re-naming CONCACAF) is an idea. We&#8217;re looking at it.<br />
&#8220;As an organisation you always have to look to change. Your brand or your name should not be exclusive of that.</p>
<p>&#8220;Part of it is the history, but part of it is also can we maximise in terms of leveraging a new brand and a new name.&#8221;</p>
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