Joao Havelange

Joao Havelange appears in 商业小样44 | 世界杯扩军与FIFA的权力斗争 as an earlier FIFA president associated with expanding the FIFA World Cup to 24 teams in 1982. The source uses him to argue that tournament expansion is a long-running FIFA strategy rather than only Gianni Infantino’s personal invention.

In the episode’s history, Havelange represents the first major modern step in turning a smaller football tournament into a more global commercial and political asset.

Connections

• FIFA, FIFA World Cup, Sepp Blatter, and Gianni Infantino - expansion lineage.
• World Cup Expansion and Global Sports Governance - concepts his era helps illustrate.