FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed the organization will consider expanding the men’s World Cup from 48 teams to 64 for the 2030 tournament. The announcement, made in mid-July 2026 as the current 48-team World Cup plays out, signals that football’s governing body isn’t done supersizing its flagship event.
What FIFA is actually proposing
The idea originated from a March 2025 FIFA Council meeting, where CONMEBOL representative Ignacio Alonso formally floated the expansion. Infantino has since indicated that formal discussions will begin after the 2026 World Cup wraps up.
A 64-team format would mean more than 30% of FIFA’s 211 member associations could qualify. That’s a meaningful jump from the 48-team setup debuting in 2026, which itself was an expansion from the 32-team format used since 1998.
The 2030 tournament is provisionally awarded to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco as primary hosts. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay hold centenary celebration ties to the event, adding a historical wrinkle to the hosting arrangement.
