On a Pacific island smaller than 21 square kilometres, where the landscape has been gutted by over-mining into a moonscape, a group of children watched the World Cup final on a phone. Nauru, the only nation never to have fielded a senior international football side, has one hard-sand pitch and an obesity rate of 69%. But as Spain lifted the trophy, a social media post from the Nauru Soccer Federation set out a dream: “one day we hope to be in Spain’s position.”
That hope may have moved a step closer after CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez appeared to confirm that the 2030 World Cup will be expanded to 64 teams. “The next one is played at home!” Dominguez wrote on X. “In 2030, the World Cup comes to Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, a great opportunity for soccer, to celebrate the Centenary of the World Cup with a competition featuring 64 teams.”
“CONMEBOL president says 2030 World Cup will have 64 teams; Nauru, the only nation never to play an official match, hopes to one day compete.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously opened the door to another expansion, telling Blue Sport: “These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.” Dominguez’s earlier tweet, a day before the final, used the word “dream” rather than certainty – but his post after the tournament made a definitive statement.
The 2030 centenary competition will be mainly grounded in Spain, Morocco and Paraguay, with additional fixtures in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico was the first to feature 48 teams; a move to 64 would double the original 32-team format.
For Nauru, the obstacles are immense. The island, once named Pleasant Island, was heavily mined for phosphate after becoming a dependent territory of Australia until independence in 1968. The minerals dried up, leaving the country heavily reliant on foreign aid and importing more than 90% of its food – much of it processed, contributing to one of the highest obesity rates in the world: 69% of the population classed as obese and around 40% with type 2 diabetes. Its 12,000 people cluster along the coast as rising sea levels threaten the land.
A group of volunteers led by former British academy player Charlie Pomroy is trying to introduce the game. Nauru has come closest to international football when representative teams faced a Solomon Islands expatriate side in 1994 and a refugee team in 2014. “The groundwork is real,” the Nauru Soccer Federation said, calling itself the last country not to have had a senior international side.
Whether a 64-team World Cup would ever include Nauru remains an open question. But for a nation that imports more than 90% of its food, football is still almost non-existent – and the pitch is made of hard sand.