FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams will be discussed after the 2026 tournament, stating that every nation should have the opportunity to compete at football’s biggest stage. The 2026 World Cup is the first to feature 48 teams, having expanded from 32.
“This is certainly an issue that will be looked at and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup. When you organize a World Cup, it’s important that you organize it for the whole world. It’s not just Europe and South America, but the entire world, effectively. Every nation should be able to dream of taking part in the World Cup. We can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher everywhere in the world. If you don’t give smaller countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they also lose the incentive to keep improving,” Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport.
The prospect of a 64-team World Cup first emerged in March 2025, when CONMEBOL proposed expanding the 2030 tournament to mark the competition’s centenary. In September, Infantino met with CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez and football association presidents from Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay in New York to discuss the proposal.
Domínguez said, “We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup. We want to call for unity, creativity, and believing big. Because when football is shared by everyone, the celebration is truly global.”
In April 2025, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani told ESPN: “I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues and players.”
A 64-team World Cup would feature 128 matches, double the 32-team format used from 1998 to 2022. The 2026 tournament features 104 matches.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has previously described the proposal as “a bad idea.”
