FIFA considers expanding World Cup to 64 teams

The meeting took place at the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) headquarters in Trump Tower, New York City (USA), with the participation of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom. The South American delegation included heads of state from Paraguay and Uruguay, along with the presidents of the top football federations from the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

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FIFA is holding discussions on expanding the 2030 World Cup (Photo: The Athletic).

The 64-team idea and the 100th anniversary of the World Cup

The idea of a 64-team World Cup was first presented by Uruguayan Football Federation President Ignacio Alonso at a FIFA Council meeting in March. The proposal was to mark the 100th anniversary of the first men's World Cup in Uruguay in 1930.

At the FIFA Congress in Paraguay in May, Mr Dominguez called on FIFA to consider a unique approach to the 100th anniversary World Cup, comparing it to a 50th birthday, which needed to be celebrated in a special way.

“We see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It cannot be a normal event, it cannot be a normal World Cup,” Mr. Dominguez said in a video posted on Instagram after the meeting.

FIFA President Infantino also expressed openness to the idea, stressing that “every idea is a good idea” and that it is FIFA’s responsibility to consider the proposals put forward.

Mixed reactions and challenges

The World Cup has steadily expanded in recent decades, from 16 teams (1982) to 24 teams (1998) and then to 32. The 2026 tournament will feature 48 teams, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. A 64-team tournament would mean more than 30% of FIFA's 211 national teams would participate.

However, the idea has been met with opposition from some senior officials. UEFA President and FIFA Vice President Aleksander Ceferin described it as a "bad idea", saying it would damage the tournament and affect qualifying. CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani also expressed his opposition, stressing that "we haven't even played 48-team football yet."

Any decision to expand the tournament would need to be discussed and approved by the FIFA Council.

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South America wants to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams (Photo: The Athletic).

The 2030 World Cup has been identified as FIFA's biggest ever tournament, with matches taking place across three continents and six countries. The tournament is expected to have its first matches in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, before the rest of the schedule is split between Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

However, this solution is considered insufficient for South American countries, who feel their continent has been under-represented in World Cups in recent years. CONMEBOL's limited involvement in the 2030 tournament could see them excluded from the 2034 and 2038 World Cups due to FIFA's confederation rotation rules.

During the meeting, Mr Dominguez suggested that Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay could each host a group within the 64-team tournament. The exact details of this format have yet to be confirmed.

Further meetings regarding the 2030 World Cup are expected to take place this week.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/fifa-xem-xet-mo-rong-world-cup-len-64-doi-20250925101726102.htm