The gathering of the organisation’s top brass is due to be held tomorrow and Friday (October 14), with the potential growth of FIFA’s flagship quadrennial showpiece high on the agenda.

The members are likely to discuss whether the tournament should grow from 32 to 48 and how such a drastic change would be implemented, including which Confederations would be eligible for the additional World Cup places.

Infantino, whose election manifesto included a pledge to increase the number of nations to 40, said the move could come in as early as 2026, provided it is given the green light by the Council.

A final decision is expected to be made in January.

Under the plans, 16 of the 48 nations would exit the World Cup after one knock-out round.

The remaining countries would then compete in the same format as the current tournament, with the 32 teams taking part in a group stage followed by a knockout phase.

The host city of the 2026 World Cup is due to be decided in May 2020.

Other items on the agenda include reports on the under-17, under-20 and Club World Cup competitions, as well as the 2016 FIFA Football Awards after world football’s governing body ended its six-year relationship with France Football magazine.

The two organisations had joined forces to hold the FIFA Ballon d’Or but their agreement was not extended beyond this year.

The magazine began the prize in 1956 and it was awarded to the best European player of the previous 12 months until 1994.

From the following year, it was given to the best footballer from any continent who played for a European club until France Football and FIFA struck a deal worth £13 million ($1.7 million/€1.5 million) in 2010, where it then became the FIFA Ballon d’Or, replacing the FIFA World Player of the Year.

The 2018 World Cup in Russia features prominently on the agenda, with regulations for the final competition and player release and rest periods set to be approved.

The decision to appoint a normalisation committee in June to take over the affairs of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) on a day-to-day basis and prepare the organisation for essential Presidential elections will also be discussed.

The meeting was due to be the first held with the Council’s full contingent of 36 members present but Asian Football Confederation (AFC) elections were postponed last month after the electorate voted against the proposed agenda at their Congress in Goa.

As a result, elections for the AFC’s three additional seats on the expanded Council, which replaced the Executive Committee under reforms initiated in the wake of FIFA’s corruption crisis, could be delayed by a “couple of months”, according to Infantino.

The FIFA Council last met ahead of the organisation’s Congress in Mexico City in May.

FIFA has opted against staging its usual press conference after the meeting, with President Infantino set to be joined by secretary general Fatma Samoura in a mixed zone.