FIFA are not considering expanding the current World Cup format to 64 teams ahead of the 2030 edition that will also celebrate the centennial edition of the first World Cup which took place in 1930, according to a report. FIFA President Gianni Infantino and CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez met in New York City to discuss the possibility of expanding the format, according to Ole. The tournament was already expanded from 32 to 48 teams for the upcoming 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada, a big change for the tournament that had held steady with 32 teams since 1998.
The 2030 World Cup will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco but some games will also be hosted in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to celebrate the centenary. If FIFA were to approve the expansion for 2030, the World Cup will see a record 128 matches all played in less then a month. However, according to The Guardian, FIFA are not considering the option as “Gianni would not get that vote through Council even if he wanted to. The overwhelming feeling around the table and not just in Europe is that 64 teams would damage the World Cup. There’d be too many uncompetitive matches and it would risk damaging the business model”, a source told the English newspaper.
The first proposal came in March 2025 on behalf of the CONMEBOL and the Uruguayan delegate as the country will likely host one of the first matches of the tournament since the 1930 World Cup took place in Uruguay. If the expansion happens, it could potentially guarantee all the ten CONMEBOL teams a spot in the 2030 World Cup, as only Venezuela has never qualified for the final phase of the most important soccer tournament in the world. After the meeting, Dominguez wrote on his social media, “We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup! Thank you, President Gianni Infantino, for welcoming us and sharing this journey toward the centennial of football’s greatest celebration. We want to call for unity, creativity, and believing big. Because when football is shared by everyone, the celebration is truly global.”
Argentina FA president Claudio Chiqui Tapia said: “I had the honor of being part of the FIFA summit, organized by Gianni Infantino, with the goal of starting to organize what will be the 2030 World Cup. It was truly a pleasure to have represented our country at this important meeting. We are family and we have done our part to request this meeting so our dream can become reality.”
