FIFA to review 64-team World Cup proposal for 2030

FIFA will review a proposal to expand the men’s World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 tournament after this year’s competition concludes, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.

Speaking in an interview with Swiss outlet Bluewin on Friday, Infantino said the proposal would be examined by FIFA’s relevant committees after the current tournament.

“When organizing a World Cup, it’s important to organize it for the whole world, not just Europe and South America. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving,” he said.

The current tournament is the first to feature 48 teams, replacing the 32-team format used from 1998 through 2022.

Any further expansion would require approval from FIFA’s governing bodies. South American football confederation CONMEBOL formally proposed a 64-team tournament for the 2030 edition in April 2025, but FIFA has not made a decision.

Infantino defended the expansion to 48 teams, saying smaller and less traditional footballing nations had performed strongly.

“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point,” he said.

He added that nine of Africa’s 10 qualified teams reached the knockout stage this year, compared with five African teams at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Under FIFA’s current format, a 64-team tournament could be accommodated by advancing the top two teams from each group directly to an expanded knockout stage, according to the proposal.

The 2030 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted mainly by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. FIFA has also arranged for three opening matches to be played in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary and commemorate Uruguay’s hosting of the inaugural World Cup in 1930.

Infantino also said he plans to present the World Cup trophy alongside US President Donald Trump at this year’s final, in line with the tradition of the host nation’s leader joining the FIFA president for the trophy presentation.

ANEWS wp:paragraph