The 2026 World Cup will be held for the first time with 48 participants. But in the future the world’s largest football tournament could get even bigger. At a meeting of the FIFA Council, a member brings a special proposal.
The 2030 World Cup could be even larger than planned. In a meeting of the FIFA council, the idea was discussed to expand the field of participants on the occasion of the 100th anniversary to 64 teams. This was confirmed by the World Association at the request of the SID. Before that had the New York Times reports on the proposal.
According to a FIFA spokesman, the proposal towards the end of the session was spontaneously brought in by a member of the council under the agenda item “Miscellaneous”. He emphasized that FIFA was obliged to examine every proposal from a member of the council.
According to information from New York Times the proposal comes from the Uruguayan association president Ignacio Alonso. Uruguay is one of the co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup, alongside Argentina, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
Should the World Cup actually grow on 64 teams, it would be the second major expansion of the tournament in a short time. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had already increased the field of 32 to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.