FIFA could be heading for another major World Cup shake-up after president Gianni Infantino confirmed that the idea of a 64-team tournament in 2030 will be examined and discussed by the governing body’s relevant committees.
Gianni Infantino is ready to consider a 64-team World Cup in four years time(Image: Getty)
The 2026 World Cup has already marked a historic change, expanding from 32 teams to 48 for the first time. Infantino has described that format as a major success, arguing that the tournament has shown the strength of football beyond its traditional power bases. But the next proposal could be even more dramatic: adding another 16 nations and turning the World Cup into a 64-team event.
The suggestion is certain to divide opinion. Supporters of expansion will argue that football is a global game and that more countries deserve the chance to experience its biggest stage. Infantino has made that argument clearly, saying the World Cup should belong to the whole world, not only Europe and South America. His view is that smaller nations need the dream of qualification to keep investing, improving and believing that they can compete.
That argument has gained strength during the expanded 2026 tournament, where several smaller or less-fancied nations have delivered competitive performances and memorable storylines. For FIFA, those stories are proof that widening the field can create fresh drama and give new audiences a reason to feel connected to the competition.
The FIFA boss believes the latest expansion has been a major success
But critics see a serious risk. A 64-team World Cup would mean more than a quarter of FIFA’s 210 men’s national teams taking part. That could weaken the value of qualification and raise fears that the tournament may become too bloated. Some already believe the 48-team version has made the group stage easier to survive and has reduced the pressure that once defined the opening round.
The 2030 World Cup is already set to be unusual. It will be staged across six countries and three continents, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting one match each, while the main tournament will be shared by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Adding a 64-team format on top of that would make it the biggest and most complex World Cup ever held.
Opposition has already come from major football figures. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has called the idea a bad one, while CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has also said he does not believe it is a great proposal. Their concerns reflect a wider fear that constant expansion could damage the prestige and rhythm of football’s most famous tournament.
For Infantino, however, the debate appears far from closed. He believes the quality of football around the world is rising and that nations outside the usual elite deserve more opportunities. His argument is simple: if countries are denied access to the World Cup dream, they may lose the incentive to develop.
The bigger question is whether football fans want a World Cup that feels more inclusive, or one that remains harder to reach. Expansion brings money, markets and new stories. But it also brings more matches, more travel and more debate over whether quantity is starting to threaten quality.
For now, nothing has been decided. But after the success FIFA claims from the 48-team format, the 64-team World Cup debate is officially alive. And if it happens in 2030, the sport’s biggest tournament may never look the same again.
