FIFA President Gianni Infantino Hints at World Cup Expanding to 64 Teams
The 2026 FIFA World Cup set a new record with 48 teams competing, up from the previous 32. Yet, FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently suggested that the tournament could get even bigger in the future.
In an interview with Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino discussed the possibility of expanding the World Cup field to 64 teams. He explained this idea will be examined by FIFA committees after the current tournament concludes.
"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," Infantino said via ESPN. "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."
CONMEBOL Pushes for 64 Teams by 2030
Back in March 2025, South America’s football confederation CONMEBOL proposed expanding the World Cup to 64 teams starting with the 2030 tournament, which will mark the event’s 100th anniversary.
"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," said CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez.
What Would a 64-Team World Cup Look Like?
If approved, a 64-team format would double the number of matches compared to the 32-team setup used from 1998 through 2022. That older format featured 64 matches; this year’s expanded 48-team event has 104 matches scheduled.
A 64-team tournament would include 128 matches overall. One advantage would be a simplified progression system, eliminating the need for some third-place teams to advance. In 2026, eight third-place teams moved on from the group stage using various tiebreakers, but the larger format could avoid this complexity.
