FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that football’s governing body will examine the possibility of expanding the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams after declaring the newly enlarged 48-team tournament a success.
The 2026 World Cup marked the first edition to feature 48 nations, up from the 32-team format used between 1998 and 2022. FIFA is now considering adding another 16 teams for the centenary tournament in 2030.
The 2030 World Cup will be staged across six countries and three continents. Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each host one match to commemorate the tournament’s 100th anniversary, while Morocco, Portugal and Spain will host the majority of the competition.
Discussions about a further expansion began after FIFA received a formal proposal in September last year, with the issue expected to be revisited following the conclusion of the 2026 tournament.
Speaking to Swiss media outlet Bluewin, Infantino said: “It (a 64-team tournament) is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup.”
Explaining the rationale behind the proposal, the FIFA president added: “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.”
Infantino also stressed that the World Cup is “for the whole world, not just Europe and South America.”
Despite mixed reactions to the expanded 48-team format, Infantino insisted the tournament had delivered on expectations, describing the 2026 World Cup as “100 percent a success.”
The expansion has divided opinion within football. Critics argue that the larger field diluted the quality of some group-stage matches and made it easier for teams to reach the knockout rounds.
If approved, a 64-team World Cup would allow more than a quarter of FIFA’s 210 men’s national teams to compete, significantly reducing the difficulty of qualification for many countries.
However, the proposal has already faced opposition from senior football officials. Aleksander Čeferin described the idea as a “bad idea,” while Victor Montagliani said expanding the tournament further was “not a great idea.”
