FIFA to consider expanding World Cup to 64 teams

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that world football’s governing body will examine a proposal to expand the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 edition following the conclusion of the ongoing 2026 tournament.

The current World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, is the first to feature 48 teams after the competition was expanded from the previous 32-team format used between 1998 and 2022.

Speaking to Swiss media outlet Bluewin, Infantino said the proposal would be formally discussed by FIFA’s decision-making bodies.

“It (a 64-team tournament) is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said.

He also stressed that the World Cup should remain a truly global competition, saying it is “for the whole world, not just Europe and South America”.

According to Infantino, giving more countries the opportunity to compete would strengthen football worldwide.

“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high—and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world.

“If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”

The FIFA president added that the introduction of the 48-team format had been successful.

He described the expansion as “100 percent a success”, despite criticism from some quarters, including Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz, who argued earlier in the tournament that increasing the number of teams had weakened the value of qualification.