Opinion – Marcelo Damato: Cup addicts already suffer from withdrawal; in 2026, there will be an overdose

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It’s been days since the Cup ended, Messi climbed to Olympus and some crazy Argentines climbed to the top of the Obelisk, in the center of Buenos Aires. This Tuesday (20), the champions paraded. And now?

Now the waiting begins, the drought. For those who are not Argentine, the nostalgia already started on Sunday. The person wakes up in anticipation for one more game and soon discovers that he doesn’t have it. Sports programs begin to change the subject. In those that haven’t changed, the commentators clearly stall, as they no longer have a subject.

In the streets, there is no more joy. In bars, chats wither. Everyone has their team, but talking about the World Cup has another vibe.

The withdrawal syndrome grows every day. It’s a mix of emptiness, longing and depression. The WHO has not yet classified this condition as a mental illness, but one day it will announce the World Cup Withdrawal Syndrome (SACOM). Those who suffer from it, like me, become baggy.

The life of the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano (1940-2015) well represented this fissure. At each World Cup, he put a sign on his door with the expression: “Closed for Football Reasons”. That month, he didn’t leave the house. And, at game time, he turned off the bell and the phone.

He is not the only one. Especially after a historic final, the number of baggers soars. Since Monday, they begin to appear all over the world.

And where there are dependents, there is always a supplier.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino promises us a more powerful World Cup in 2026. It will not be the old 32-team World Cup, cultivated by hand on lawns over 24 years.

The new Cup, more powerful, will have 48 selections. Aware of its even greater addictive power (and its price), some federations, governments and rights buyers have reacted.

Infantino, as a seasoned dealer, says there won’t be much of an impact.

First it suggested that 32 teams would have to make a playoff, which would send 16 teams and their fans home immediately. And the Cup would return to the usual 32.

Since no one liked it, he tried the 16 sets of three formula, which would increase the number of games from 64 to 80, just 25% more.

Again, there was criticism — and Infantino was counting on it.

At the end of the Worlds, he announced that he is thinking about 12 groups of 4, taking the total games to a staggering 104, an increase of 63%. It will be a Cup overdose. It does not stop there.

In July 2023, there will be the Women’s World Cup. The effect on the syndrome is very small, but it already refreshes. In 2025, the recently announced Club World Cup should take place. There will be 32 clubs, a novelty. Seeing the effect on Sacom.

These changes, if they have an impact on fans, are not made because of them, but because of FIFA’s internal policy. Infantino needs to keep his constituents, the presidents of the federations, engaged with a growing volume of vacancies in competitions, values ​​in commercial contracts and threats of retaliation. Fifa is a hungry monster that needs to grow all the time, even if that one day leads to its death.

Despite all the discomfort with the period without the Cup, it is necessary to resist trivialization. Infantino already tried to organize the Cup every two years. He was rightly gong.

In a way, Hearts are like Christmas dinner. If it is possible to consume it all year round, it loses its charm.

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