FIFA reportedly considering expanding World Cup to 64 teams from 2030

The competition only recently expanded from 32 teams to 48.

According to reports, FIFA is thinking about holding a one-time, 64-team World Cup in 2030 to celebrate the tournament’s centennial. This would be the tournament’s second successive expansion.

According to The New York Times, Uruguayan delegate Ignacio Alonso presented the notion after a recent FIFA conference by reading a prepared speech in English.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino showed interest in the concept and stated that it should be further examined, although other attendees of the virtual conference were taken aback by it.

Similar to FIFA’s earlier plan to conduct the World Cup every two years instead of its present schedule of every four years, Alonso’s suggestion is anticipated to encounter opposition. A committee was established to investigate that concept, but their work secretly ended after a year.

It is anticipated that a 64-team World Cup, particularly one that is held on short notice, may encounter logistical challenges, particularly during a competition that is already unusual in that regard.

Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco are the six nations on three continents that FIFA has granted the hosting rights to the 2030 edition.

The 64-team’s quality is also questioned because it would feature over 25% of FIFA’s member countries and may render some World Cup qualifying tournaments essentially pointless.

Between 1998 and its most current edition in 2022, the men’s World Cup was a 32-team championship. Infantino was not the first to propose that the World Cup be expanded to 48 teams, but he proposed a reality even though it was a controversial one from a competitive and logistical perspective.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada will co-host the 2026 World Cup, which will be the first to feature 48 teams. In addition to having 104 games instead of 64, the competition will take 39 days, which is nine days longer than a 32-team tournament.

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