FIFA will study a plan to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, president Gianni Infantino has said.
The current World Cup has 48 teams. FIFA increased the number from 32 for the 2026 tournament.
Infantino said adding another 16 teams could make sense. He said FIFA officials would discuss the proposal after the current World Cup.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino told Swiss media outlet Bluewin.
A 64 team World Cup would allow more countries to take part. Infantino believes smaller football nations need the chance to compete at the biggest tournament.
“When organising a World Cup, it’s important to organise it for the whole world, not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world,” he said.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher all over the world.
“If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
The World Cup had 32 teams from 1998 to 2022. The 2026 edition is the first tournament with 48 teams.
The new format includes 104 matches across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Argentina, England, France and Spain are the four teams still in the tournament. Two semifinals and the final remain.
Infantino described the expanded competition as a “huge success”.
“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point,” he said.
“Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa.
“That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams, to give them this opportunity to participate.”
The 2030 World Cup will take place across three continents.
Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each host one opening match. Morocco, Portugal and Spain will host the rest of the tournament.
A move to 64 teams could allow the three South American countries to host one full four team group each instead of only one match.
