FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that football’s governing body will assess the possibility of expanding the men’s FIFA World Cup to 64 teams after the conclusion of the 2026 tournament, insisting that the competition should reflect the aspirations of nations across the globe.
Speaking to Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino said the success of the newly expanded 48-team format has strengthened the case for exploring an even larger tournament.
“These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup,” Infantino said. “When organising a World Cup, it’s important to organise it for the whole world—not jut Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.”
He argued that expanding the tournament would give smaller football nations greater opportunities to compete on the biggest stage, thereby encouraging their continued development.
According to Infantino, the 2026 World Cup has already demonstrated the benefits of expansion, pointing to the improved performance of African teams.
“The first 48-team World Cup has been a huge success,” he said, noting that nine of the 10 African teams qualified for the knockout stages, compared with just five African representatives at the previous edition.
FIFA increased the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams in 2017, with the expanded format making its debut at the 2026 tournament.
Calls for another expansion gathered momentum after South America’s football governing body, CONMEBOL, formally proposed a 64-team World Cup for the 2030 edition in April 2025. However, FIFA has yet to make a decision on the proposal.
The 2030 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will stage the opening matches to commemorate the tournament’s centenary. Uruguay hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
Despite Infantino’s openness to the idea, the proposal has faced stiff opposition from several football leaders.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin described the plan as a “bad idea” for both the tournament and its qualifying process.
Similarly, Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that further expansion could create “chaos,” while Concacaf President Victor Montagliani said a 64-team World Cup “doesn’t feel right” and could harm the broader football ecosystem.
However, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, said the United States could even consider bidding to host the 2038 World Cup and would be capable of staging a 64-team tournament if FIFA approved the expansion.
FIFA has maintained that it is obliged to consider any proposal submitted by members of its council, with the final decision resting with the FIFA Council. For now, however, there is no indication that an expansion to 64 teams is imminent.
