FIFA Plots to Expand 2030 World Cup to 64 Teams

The football governing body is cooking up a plan to boost the 2030 World Cup to a staggering 64 teams – in a one-off move to mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary, The New York Times reports. 

FIFA president Gianni Infantino was interested in the proposal during the general meeting held on Wednesday via video conference. The plan would send Morocco, Spain, and Portugal into a logistical mayhem.

The World Cup is FIFA’s cash cow, raking in billions of dollars and drawing eyes from every corner of the globe. Infantino wants to make the most of this worldwide appeal and has already raised the teams from 32 to 48 to take part in the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada. 

Uruguay’s delegate Ignacio Alonso dropped the bombshell proposal — reading out a carefully scripted speech in English. Stunned silence followed. 

Infantino reportedly called the proposal “interesting” and said it deserved closer analysis. But history tells us radical changes can fizzle out. Remember when FIFA flirted with the idea of holding the World Cup every two years? After a year of heated debate, the plan quietly disappeared.

Still, a 64-team World Cup would throw the qualification process into chaos. In South America, for example, 7 out of 10 teams are already set to qualify for 2026 — making regional qualifiers almost pointless. Broadcasters might protest, too, worried that a bloated tournament could dull the magic of the world’s most-watched sporting event.

The 2026 tournament, with its 48 teams, will already stretch to 104 games over a month – straining the countries’ logistics. Add more teams, and the schedule could balloon to 128 matches. It would be unbearable for the hosts, broadcasters, and players.