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Referenda should be handled with care. Those voting should be aware of the consequences of all alternatives (or at least have the possbility to be informed). All too often referenda options, or at least one of them, are very vague when it comes to definition and consequences. A meaningful referendum can only be held when there is a thouroughly elaborated bid produced and pros and cons better known. This will take a lot of time especially when you included the necessary time for a campaign. Further, since much of the cost and other consequences (such as police "depravation") would fall on the entire country, you'd need a national referendum. Those are costly if you don¨t combine them with another election. All this means that any referendum about a WOG in Stockholm-Åre-Falun-Östersund-Sigulda-Riga(?)-Karlstad(?) probably would only be held in June 2024 together with the elections for the European Parliament. However, it's more than likely that the project will have been killed off long before that. If you have a closer look at SOK's 2026 bid it was seriously flawed in many, many ways. Those flaws could be overcome if there is strong political will to spend the necessary money. A political will so far absent. The timing is not exactly the best for a new WOG bid. * The economy is weak. * Stockholm already has a multi-billion project with rapidly escalating costs (projected 12 GSEK, latest estimate 21 GSEK) * IOC handling of Russian and Belarus participation in Paris not popular and brings home that IOC may impose poltical conditions on Sweden that the country would hate. * International sports federations in general are considered by many as a bunch of corrupt old men. Epitomized by Mr Usmanov, who is a very good friend of Mr Bach's. (Search on Drakenberg and FIE) The political situation is also very tricky. On municipal level in Stockholm the city is run by a coalition of Social Democrats, Left party and Greens. While the local leader of the Social Democrats may be the one politician in favor of a WOG (she has been very silent this time) she is not prepared to risk the coalition with the anti-WOG parties. The main opposition party, the Moderates (conservatives), was the party that de facto pulled the plug on the 2022 and 2026 bids. On the national level the leader of the main oppostion party, Social Democarats, had the following reaction to the news of SOK's latest atttempt: "Sigh" The Moderate-led government has been extremely non-committal. They would also need to clear this, like anything else, with the nationalist-populist Sweden Democrats. The Sweden Democrats don't like wogs. Apart from the financial cost/risk, they most likely would find the law and order aspect unacceptable. Law and order is one of their pillars. Sweden has too few police officers. Recruitment of qualified police officers is lagging behind plans. In that situation it would be problematic to allocate some 2 million police hours to a WOG. (Military is strictly forbidden to perform police duties).

But this is FIFA who I don't think ever go back on anything. To go back to 32 would mean admitting Gianni was wrong, and that's... unlikely unless there's some major changes to everything at FIFA...

Nah. I think the idiotic, BLOATED number of 48 teams will collapse after 2030. I mean, after the US, which would already have hosted 2026, China would be the ONLY one-country host capable of hosting a 64-team tournament. But even that would be just TOO much for FIFA. It's total insanity!!