Sports

FIFA Eyes 64-Team World Cup Expansion After 2026

Is a 64-team World Cup a greedy overreach that kills competition or the boldest step toward a truly global game?

Published JUL 13

FIFA Eyes 64-Team World Cup Expansion After 2026

Story

Above: FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Vancouver, Canada on June 13. Image credit: Jared C. Tilton - FIFA/FIFA/Getty Images

The Facts

FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that a potential expansion of the men's World Cup from 48 to 64 teams will be examined after the 2026 tournament, telling Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport the matter would be discussed "in the relevant committees."
The National News
ESPN
FOX News
The proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams was first raised informally by Uruguayan Football Association President Ignacio Alonso at a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025 and was later formally presented by CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez.
guardian
Al Jazeera
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called a 64-team World Cup "a bad idea," while Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that further expansion could become "chaos."
Al Jazeera
The National News
Seven of CONMEBOL's 10 member federations have expressed concerns about the 64-team expansion plan, with critics within the confederation worried about the impact on South American qualifying revenue and competitive integrity.
guardian
guardian
A 64-team World Cup would feature 128 matches — double the 64 played under the 32-team format used from 1998 to 2022 and 24 more than the 104-match schedule of the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Al Jazeera
guardian
The Sun
The 2030 World Cup is set to be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with three centenary matches held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the 100th anniversary of the first tournament. The 2034 edition will be held in Saudi Arabia.
guardian
Cyprus Mail

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Expanding the World Cup to 64 teams is a money grab dressed up as inclusion. There is widespread agreement among fans that the format would flood the tournament with uncompetitive matches and wreck the business model. The appeal of the World Cup was always seeing football excellence, and smaller nations are already rewarded for cultivating talent on the pitch.

Charlie Walsham on X

China Daily

talkSPORT

Narrative B

A 64-team World Cup isn't bloat — it's the sport finally living up to its name. Nine out of 10 African teams advanced in the knockout stages of the 48-team format, proving that global talent is real and rising fast thanks to the expanded format. Shutting smaller nations out of the tournament kills their incentive to develop, and a sport that calls itself the world's game should actually include the whole world.