Gianni Infantino hints at 64-team expansion for FIFA World Cup 2030
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The ongoing expanded edition of the FIFA World Cup features 48 teams.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the global football governing body will examine the possibility of expanding the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 edition. This follows the financial success of the ongoing edition in North America, featuring an expanded field of 48 teams.
The current edition added 16 teams to the previous 32-team format that was used from 1998 to 2022. Infantino said that the expansion has strengthened FIFA’s goal of making the quadrennial tournament more inclusive.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino told Swiss outlet Bluewin.
“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.”
Also Read: FIFA Women’s World Cup expands to 48 teams from 2031
Infantino highlights African teams’ success
This year’s tournament saw several of the World Cup debutants shining on the biggest stage of football. Cape Verde shocked the world by reaching the Round of 32, managing draws against Spain and Uruguay.
They then pushed Argentina to the very end in the knockout stages, suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 loss.
“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 said.
“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point.”
Meanwhile, nine African teams qualified for the knockouts, marking a new World Cup record. Morocco went the furthest, reaching the quarter-finals. Stars like Riyad Mahrez stressed that this performance from the African teams was an “amazing” achievement for the continent.
“Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa,” Infantino added. “That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams – to give them this opportunity to participate.”
2030 expansion under scrutiny
Not everyone is as thrilled as Infantino about the proposed 64-team expansion of the World Cup. One of the detractors of the plans is UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who said, “It’s not a good idea for our qualifiers.”
One of the biggest problems with the expansion in the ongoing World Cup was that three rounds of matches were required to eliminate only one-third of the participating nations. The expansion has also added to an increasingly congested calendar for the players.
There’s also the suspicion that FIFA’s motivations are financial in nature, with the expanded roster bringing in a record nine billion dollars of revenue from this year’s activities – more than the last four years combined.
Another expansion to 64 teams means that more than one-fourth of the 210 FIFA members will qualify, forcing the associations to change their qualification formats.
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will celebrate the centenary of the quadrennial tournament. It will be hosted by six nations across two continents. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will each host one opening match.
The remainder of the tournament will then be played in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with the final reportedly scheduled to be played at Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
What did Gianni Infantino say about FIFA World Cup 2030 expansion?
Infantino confirmed FIFA will examine the possibility of expanding to 64 teams in 2030, citing inclusivity and the success of the current 48‑team edition.
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Sushruta has spent over two years covering football, with a particular focus on Indian and international competitions. Alongside football, he has reported on a variety of sports, bringing curiosity and perspective to every story. When he’s not following the action, he can usually be found binge-watching movies or getting lost in a good book.