FIFA to consider expanded 64-team World Cup ahead 2030 –Infantino
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has revealed that the football governing body will discuss expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams after the 2026 tournament.
The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico is the first to feature 48 teams, having expanded from 32, and a further increase is on the cards for the 2030 edition in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
It would be recalled that South American confederation CONMEBOL proposed expanding the 2030 tournament, which will mark the competition’s centenary in March 2025.
Infantino has confirmed that the possibility of extending the number of teams to 64 in 2030 is open to consideration.
He said: “This is certainly an issue that will be looked at and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup.
“When you organise a World Cup, it’s important that you organise it for the whole world. It’s not just Europe and South America, but the entire world, effectively. Every nation should be able to dream of taking part in the World Cup.
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“We can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher everywhere in the world. If you don’t give smaller countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they also lose the incentive to keep improving.”
Meanwhile, Infantino has described the new 48-team format as a “huge success”, citing the competitiveness of teams from every continent.
“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point.
“Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include more teams and give them this opportunity to participate.”
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be staged across six countries on three continents to mark the competition’s centenary.
Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each host one opening match before the tournament moves to its principal hosts Morocco, Portugal and Spain for the remainder of the competition.
If approved, a 64-team World Cup would feature 128 matches, double the number played under the 32-team format used between 1998 and 2022.
