FIFA will consider a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams.
The idea was put forward at the latest FIFA Council by delegate Ignacio Alonso, the president of the Uruguayan Football Association, according to a report from The New York Times.
Uruguay will be one of three South American countries to host anniversary matches to celebrate the competition’s centenary edition.
Argentina and Paraguay will also stage those celebration games in a tournament that will primarily be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Uruguay hosted and won the inaugural 1930 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final. Paraguay were eliminated in the group stage.
At present the tournament is set to comprise 48 teams, FIFA having confirmed an expansion from 32 teams for the 2026 competition, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
But FIFA president Gianni Infantino agreed to further explore the idea of adding another 16 teams to the Finals after it was proposed by Alonso.
A FIFA spokesperson was quoted as telling The Guardian: “A proposal to analyse a 64-team Fifa World Cup to celebrate the centenary of the Fifa World Cup in 2030 was spontaneously raised by a Fifa council member in the ‘miscellaneous’ agenda item near the end of the Fifa Council meeting held on 5 March 2025,. The idea was acknowledged as Fifa has a duty to analyse any proposal from one of its council members.”
Next year’s 48-team tournament will feature 12 groups of four, with the top two sides progressing. The eight best-performing third-placed teams will join them in the round of 32.
