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FIFA president says proposal will be reviewed after the 2026 World Cup
ZURICH, July 12 (Alliance News): FIFA will examine the possibility of expanding the 2030 FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 teams following the conclusion of the 2026 tournament, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said.
Speaking to Swiss media outlet Bluewin, Infantino said the proposal would be discussed by FIFA’s relevant committees after the ongoing World Cup, describing the idea as a way to make football’s biggest tournament more inclusive.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said.
He stressed that the FIFA World Cup should represent every region of the world rather than only traditional football powers.
“When organising a World Cup, it’s important to organise it for the whole world — not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup,” he said.
Infantino added that expanding the tournament could encourage the growth of football in emerging nations by providing more opportunities to compete on the global stage.
He noted that the standard of football continues to improve worldwide and that greater participation would motivate smaller footballing nations to invest further in development.
The FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams from 1998 through 2022 before expanding to 48 teams for the 2026 edition being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Infantino described the 48-team format as a “huge success,” saying teams from every continent had performed competitively during the tournament.
“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point. Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. That shows how important it is to give all teams the opportunity to participate,” he said.
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be held across six countries on three continents to mark the tournament’s centenary.
The opening matches will be staged in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, while the remainder of the tournament will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
If approved, a 64-team tournament would be the largest in FIFA World Cup history and could allow more host nations to stage additional group-stage matches.
