The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) have reportedly planned to expand the number of participating teams for the 2030 World Cup.
According to The Guardian, FIFA are considering increasing the number of teams in the tournament from 48 to 64.
The decision is said to be part of the tournament’s 100th-anniversary celebrations since its inception.
The report suggests that the idea was raised during a council meeting on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino reportedly finds the idea “interesting,” with the committee set to deliberate on it.
“A proposal to analyze a 64-team FIFA World Cup to celebrate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup in 2030 was spontaneously raised by a FIFA Council member under the ‘miscellaneous’ agenda item near the end of the FIFA Council meeting held on March 5, 2025. The idea was acknowledged, as FIFA has a duty to analyze any proposal from one of its council members,” A FIFA spokesperson stated as quoted by the Daily Mail.
Pending approval, this would mark the second consecutive expansion after the increase in participants for the 2026 edition.
FIFA officially approved the 48-team format on January 10, 2017, which features 16 groups of three teams and a total of 80 matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the round of 32.
The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. However, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay will host centenary matches to open the tournament.
EE/EK
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