In football news, FIFA unveiled the timetable of its delayed bidding process for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with president Gianni Infantino's plans for a 40-team tournament to be decided upon by October and a final decision on the hosts to be made in May 2020.

Football's world governing body said it would consider allowing joint bids and review a rule which bans the same continent from hosting two successive World Cups. Qatar will host the 2022 edition and under current rules, this means that other Asian countries would have to wait until 2030. China may get the green light for the bid if the ban is lifted.

The Council ruled that bidding nations would have to meet requirements on human rights, sustainable event management and environmental protection. Bidders who did not meet these requirements would be excluded. FIFA said that decisions were expected by October on the number of teams, the format for the tournament, the eligibility of continental confederations to bid, and whether to allow joint bids.

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