Infantino opens door to 64-team World Cup
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the governing body will review the possibility of expanding the men’s FIFA World Cup to 64 teams after the 2026 tournament, insisting the competition should provide opportunities for countries from every region.
Speaking to Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino said the success of the newly expanded 48-team World Cup had strengthened the case for assessing whether an even larger tournament would be feasible.
“We will examine all these issues after the World Cup,” he said when asked about the prospect of a 64-team competition.
According to Infantino, the World Cup should be a truly global event that gives every nation the chance to dream of qualifying, rather than being dominated by traditional football powers from Europe and South America.
He argued that the standard of football is improving across the world and that expanding the tournament could encourage smaller nations to continue developing by offering them a realistic path to the global stage.
Infantino described the inaugural 48-team World Cup as a major success, pointing to the strong performance of African nations, with nine of the 10 participating teams advancing to the knockout rounds.
He noted that only five African teams competed at the previous World Cup, saying the increased representation demonstrated the value of giving more countries the opportunity to participate.
FIFA approved the expansion from 32 to 48 teams in 2017, with the new format making its debut at the 2026 tournament.
The idea of increasing the field to 64 teams for the 2030 World Cup was formally proposed by South American football governing body CONMEBOL in April 2025, although no decision has yet been taken.
The 2030 tournament will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will stage the opening matches to mark the centenary of the FIFA World Cup. Uruguay hosted the inaugural tournament in 1930.
The proposal has drawn criticism from several football leaders. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has described a 64-team World Cup as a “bad idea,” arguing it would negatively affect both the tournament and the qualifying process.
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has also warned that further expansion could create “chaos,” while CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani believes increasing the number of teams again would harm the wider football landscape.
Despite the concerns, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, has suggested the United States could bid to host the 2038 World Cup and would be capable of staging a 64-team event if FIFA adopted the format.
FIFA has maintained that it is open to discussing expansion proposals submitted by its council members and stakeholders, although there are currently no indications that a decision is imminent.
Expanding the tournament would present significant logistical challenges for host nations. The 2026 World Cup is being staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico, while the 2030 edition will span six countries. Questions also remain over how Saudi Arabia, the planned host of the 2034 World Cup, would manage a 64-team tournament featuring 128 matches.
Supporters of further expansion argue that it would allow nearly one-third of FIFA’s 211 member associations to qualify for the finals, while also generating additional revenue that could be redistributed across the global game.
Source: BBC
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