FIFA considers 64-team World Cup for 2030

DUBAI: FIFA, the governing body of world football, is exploring the possibility of expanding the World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 event that will be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, the association’s president, Gianni Infantino, has confirmed.

The ongoing 2026 finals were the first to feature 48 nations rather than the 32 that had taken part in the competition since 1998. Now the possibility of adding a further 16 is being seriously considered.

“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino told Swiss online news outlet Bluewin.

“It’s important to organize a World Cup for the whole world; not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world.”

He also stated that he considers the expanded 48-team edition hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, which reaches the semifinals stage this week, a success.

“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup,” Infantino added. “You can see that the quality of the ‌‌teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher all over the world.

“If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”