FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced that the organization will look into a plan to expand the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams starting with the 2030 edition. This change could mean more African teams will get to compete in the tournament.
If this plan gets the green light, it will add 16 more teams to the World Cup after the 2026 edition was already increased from 32 to 48 teams.
Infantino shared this information during an interview with Swiss media outlet Bluewin, as reported by The New York Times on Sunday.
When asked about calls from various stakeholders to increase the number of teams to 64, Infantino said FIFA's committees would review the proposal after the 2026 World Cup. "It is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup," he stated.
The FIFA president emphasized that expanding the tournament fits with FIFA’s aim of making the World Cup more inclusive. "The World Cup is for the whole world, not just Europe and South America," Infantino explained.
"Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. 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."
An increase to 64 teams would probably mean that more slots would be available for qualification for each continental confederation. This could give Africa more spots than the current 10 under the 48-team format.
Infantino also called the increase to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup a "100 percent a success," despite some criticism from certain coaches and football officials.
The idea for a 64-team tournament first came up during a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025, thanks to Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso. It received support from CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez, who mentioned that a larger tournament in 2030 would "unite the world, just once."
The 2030 World Cup is set to take place across six countries on three continents. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will host the opening matches, while Morocco, Portugal, and Spain will take care of the rest of the tournament.
Still, not everyone is on board with the idea. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin labeled it a "bad idea," claiming it would weaken both the World Cup and the European qualification process.
CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has also voiced concerns, stating that expanding the tournament further is "not a great idea."
If this proposal is approved, the 64-team format would let more than a quarter of FIFA’s 210 member associations compete in the World Cup, marking the biggest expansion in the tournament’s history.
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