FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that football's governing body will examine the possibility of expanding the World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 tournament. This potential move follows the successful implementation of a 48-team format at the ongoing 2026 World Cup in North America. Infantino suggested that further growth could help include more nations, arguing that every country should have the opportunity to dream of participating on the world stage. He emphasized that the quality of international football is rising globally and that providing more slots encourages smaller nations to continue improving their programs.
The 2030 World Cup is already set to be a unique, multi-continent event. While the majority of matches will be held in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, the tournament will also feature opening games in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to celebrate the centenary of the first World Cup. An expansion to 64 teams could fundamentally change the logistics of this event, potentially allowing the South American host nations to each host an entire group of teams rather than just a single match. FIFA committees are expected to discuss the proposal in detail following the conclusion of the 2026 tournament.
While the 48-team format has been praised for its inclusivity, it has also faced scrutiny regarding its complexity. The current structure requires selecting the best third-place finishers to complete the knockout rounds, a system that some critics find confusing. A 64-team tournament would likely feature 16 groups of four, allowing for a more straightforward progression where the top two teams from each group advance to a 32-team knockout stage. This would mirror the traditional format used for decades, albeit on a much larger scale, and would likely increase the total number of matches to 128.