FIFA to consider expanding 2030 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.

The idea of a further expansion first gained momentum after Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso proposed a 64-team World Cup during a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025.

Later that year, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez publicly backed the proposal, calling it his “dream” and saying it would “unite the world, just once”.

The 2030 World Cup is already set to be staged across six countries on three continents.

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Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each host one opening match, while Morocco, Portugal and Spain will stage the remainder of the tournament.

Supporters of the proposal argue that a larger competition would allow the three South American nations to host full groups rather than single matches.

However, the plan has also faced opposition. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has previously labelled the proposal “bad idea”, warning it could reduce the quality of both the World Cup and the European qualifying competition. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has also expressed reservations, describing it as “not a great idea.”

Infantino also revealed that he has remained in regular contact with U.S. President Donald Trump throughout the tournament.

According to the FIFA president, Trump has closely followed the competition and is expected to present the trophy to the winners after the World Cup final, as previously announced.