FIFA President Gianni Infantino has hinted at expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams. This will be discussed after the World Cup. Already 48 teams will play in 2026, the aim of which is to give opportunity to smaller countries also.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed that football’s governing body will explore the possibility of expanding the FIFA World Cup to a 64-team tournament for the 2030 edition. The World Cup is set to undergo a major expansion ahead of 2026, with the number of teams increasing from 32 to 48 for the finals to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The format of 32 teams was in force from 1998 to 2022 World Cup.
World Cup of 64 teams will be considered
Infantino, president of world football’s governing body, confirmed that talks would take place on the proposed format after this summer’s tournament. “This (64-team tournament) is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said in an interview with Swiss media outlet BlueWin, according to The Athletic.
He added, “Every country should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is very high, and it is constantly increasing all over the world. If you don’t give smaller countries the opportunity to participate in the World Cup, they will lack the incentive to keep improving.”
The 56-year-old FIFA president described the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams as “100 percent successful” and highlighted the positive response to the larger format ahead of its implementation at the upcoming edition.
2030 World Cup will be historic
The 2030 World Cup will be a historic multi-continent tournament, whose matches will be played in six countries across three continents. Uruguay, the host of the first World Cup in 1930, as well as Argentina and Paraguay, the 2022 champions, will each host one opening match. The remaining matches of the tournament – 101 matches in a 48-team format – will be shared between Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
In September 2025, FIFA began discussing the possibility of further expanding the tournament for 2030 after the governing body received a formal proposal from a delegation of influential South American leaders. (ANI)
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