Fifa president Gianni Infantino has opened the door to a 64-team World Cup, saying the possibility will be "examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup". In an interview with Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino declared the current 48-team tournament a "huge success" and argued that the event must be "for the whole world – not just Europe and South America".
"Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup," he said. "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."
“Infantino says Fifa will assess a 64-team World Cup after 2026, calling the 48-team format a 'huge success'.”
Infantino cited the performance of African teams as evidence: nine out of ten reached the knockout stages, compared with five at the last 32-team tournament. The expansion from 32 to 48 teams was approved by the Fifa council in 2017. An official proposal for a 64-team 2030 World Cup was put forward by South American governing body Conmebol in April 2025, but no decision has been reached.
The 2030 edition will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the centenary. A 64-team format could allow each South American nation to host a full group rather than a single match.
Not all football leaders are convinced. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin dismissed the idea as a "bad idea", while Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said it "doesn't feel right" and would damage "the broader football ecosystem". Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned it would bring "chaos".
However, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House's World Cup task force, said the United States could consider bidding for the 2038 tournament and would be able to "handle it" even with 64 teams. Fifa's official position remains that it will discuss expansion ideas with stakeholders after the 2026 tournament.