BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Following are the world's top sports news in 2017 selected by Xinhua news Agency:

(Photo source: Xinhua/AFP)

- The FIFA Council decided to expand the FIFA World Cup to a 48-team competition as of the 2026 edition on January 10 in Zurich.

The 48 teams will be split into 16 groups of three. Top two teams from each group will advance to the 32-team knockout stage.