Infantino says 64-team World Cup for 2030 is 'definitely an issue that will be examined' after 48-team 'huge success'

The 48-team verdict

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared the first 48-team World Cup a 'huge success' and confirmed that expanding further to 64 teams for the 2030 edition is 'definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup.' Speaking to Swiss media outlet Bluewin, Infantino pointed to the performance of smaller nations as evidence the format works. 'Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point,' he said. Nine of the ten African teams reached the knockout stage, up from five at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, a statistic Infantino used to argue for broader inclusion. The current 104-match schedule is nearing its conclusion with Argentina, England, France and Spain remaining in the semifinals.

That's definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup.

The tournament field had been fixed at 32 teams from 1998 through 2022 before the expansion to 48 for 2026. Infantino framed the next potential jump, to 64, as a logical continuation of FIFA's mission to globalise the sport.

The 2030 proposal and South American pressure

The idea of a 64-team World Cup is not new. Uruguayan official Ignacio Alonso first raised it at a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025, and Alejandro Dominguez, president of South American confederation CONMEBOL and a FIFA vice-president, renewed the push in November 2025, calling a super-sized centenary tournament his 'dream.' Under the existing 2030 plan, the competition opens with single matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The remaining games would be staged across Morocco, Portugal and Spain. A 64-team expansion could upgrade each of the three South American hosts from one match to one full four-team group, a prospect that reportedly appeals to officials in the region.

Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.

Format and logistics

A 64-team format would add sixteen more nations to the finals, meaning roughly one quarter of FIFA's member associations would qualify. According to reports, the structure would introduce four additional groups of four teams and eliminate the current provision that allows some third-place finishers to advance to the round of 32. The change would also extend a tournament that, at 48 teams, already features 104 matches compared with 64 at the 2022 edition in Qatar. Infantino acknowledged the timeline: discussions will begin only after the 2026 tournament wraps up with the final on US soil.

European and CONCACAF opposition

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has called a 64-team World Cup a 'bad idea,' arguing it would devalue both the finals and the continental qualifying campaigns. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has likewise expressed strong doubts about the utility of further expansion. Their resistance sets up a potential standoff within FIFA's governance structure, where the financial and political weight of Europe's confederation often counters proposals driven by other regions. No formal vote has been scheduled, but the comments from Ceferin and Montagliani signal that the 64-team concept faces significant headwinds before it can reach a ballot.

A 64-team World Cup is a bad idea.

What happens next

Infantino's remarks to Bluewin serve as the opening signal for a debate that will unfold across FIFA's committees in the coming months. The 2030 tournament, already unprecedented in spanning six host nations across three continents, carries logistical complexity regardless of the number of participants. Any decision to add sixteen more teams would require approval from the FIFA Council, a body where regional confederations hold considerable sway. With the current World Cup winding down and four teams still in contention on the pitch, the parallel conversation about the tournament's future size has now formally begun.