An An – 09:11, Wed Jul 22, 2026 (GMT+7)
After the success of the 2026 World Cup with 48 participating teams, FIFA continues to leave open the possibility of expanding the tournament to 64 teams from 2030.
The 2026 World Cup with 48 participating teams is considered a great success by FIFA. However, immediately after the tournament closed, FIFA President Gianni Infantino continued to leave open the possibility of expanding the World Cup to 64 teams, even from the 2030 World Cup.
If this plan is approved, this will be the second consecutive time the World Cup has increased the number of participating teams in just 8 years, from 32 teams to 48 teams and then to 64 teams. This proposal promises to bring more opportunities for developing football backgrounds, but at the same time also entails a series of challenges in terms of expertise, finance and organization.
Expanding to 64 teams means FIFA must allocate more slots to member federations. At the 2026 World Cup, Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC) and the North, Central America and Caribbean regions (Concacaf) are the biggest beneficiaries as the number of slots increased significantly. If the World Cup continues to expand, these three regions are likely to continue to receive more tickets, opening up opportunities for teams that rarely participate in major playgrounds.
Meanwhile, UEFA – the region with the most representatives at the World Cup – is predicted to only receive a limited number of slots. This is in line with FIFA’s orientation to increase the globality of the tournament instead of continuing to prioritize top European football nations.
South America is in a special situation again. CONMEBOL currently only has 10 member teams but already owns six direct spots and one play-off spot at the 2026 World Cup. Therefore, FIFA almost has no room to increase spots without making this regional qualifying round lose its competitiveness.
The increase of 16 teams also means that the World Cup qualifiers will have to be reorganized. At the 2026 World Cup, AFC and Concacaf have both changed the competition format to suit the increased number of slots. If the World Cup expands to 64 teams, it is likely that the federations will continue to adjust the qualifying system, and FIFA must also redesign the intercontinental play-off round.
Another issue is that the value of the qualifiers is at risk of declining. When many strong teams are almost certain to win tickets to the World Cup, the attractiveness of the qualifying matches will decrease, leading to a decrease in television rights value and commercial revenue. This may also make federations more dependent on financial re
The 2030 World Cup is already considered a special tournament when it takes place in 6 countries of three continents, including Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. If the number of participating teams increases to 64, the pressure to organize will be much greater.
Teams will have to travel longer distances, adapting to different climate conditions between South America, Europe and North Africa. In addition, FIFA will also have to address a series of questions about fairness in competition, how to allocate venues, travel schedules as well as the infrastructure capacity of host countries.
If the 4-team group model is still maintained, the 64-team World Cup will have 16 groups instead of 12 groups as in the 2026 World Cup. At that time, FIFA may return to the familiar format where only the top two teams in each group qualify for the 32-team round, instead of taking the third-placed teams with the best results.
In case FIFA wants to reform more strongly, this agency may also consider similar models to the Champions League, with the addition of play-off rounds or a complete change in the group stage structure.
The number of matches of the tournament will increase from 104 to 128 matches, meaning the organization time may be extended by at least one week, increasing pressure on the already very dense schedule of world football as well as the risk of overload and injuries for players.
Although Gianni Infantino continues to express his desire to expand the World Cup, the possibility of this plan becoming a reality is still open. CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez is one of the strong supporters of the 64-team World Cup idea. However, many other leaders oppose it.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called it a “bad idea”, while AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that further expansion would lead to “chaos”. Concacaf President Victor Montagliani also said that this could negatively affect the global football ecosystem.
The final decision will belong to FIFA. However, with the prolonged controversy and a series of unsolved professional, financial and logistical issues, the 64-team World Cup is still a more ambitious idea than a plan ready to be implemented in the near future.
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