Infantino says FIFA examining 64-team World Cup for 2030

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the governing body will examine expanding the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams ahead of the 2030 tournament, hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. The announcement, made Saturday as the 2026 edition in the United States continues, revives a proposal that has been circulating for more than a year but had appeared to lose momentum in recent months.nytimes+2

A Centenary Ambition Resurfaces

The idea of a 64-team World Cup for 2030 originated with CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation, which formally proposed the expansion in April 2025 to mark the tournament's 100th anniversary. The inaugural World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930, and the 2030 edition will feature centenary matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay before the main tournament kicks off in Europe and North Africa.bbc+1

CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez met with Infantino and South American federation leaders in New York in September 2025 to discuss the plan, according to ESPN. Reuters reported at the time that FIFA had not reached a decision and that if approved, the expansion would be a one-off, with the tournament reverting to 48 teams for the 2034 edition in Saudi Arabia.espn+1

Opposition and Skepticism

The proposal has faced resistance. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said in April 2025 that he did not believe expanding to 64 teams was "the appropriate direction for the tournament or the overall football landscape". UEFA president Aleksandar Čeferin has also been reported as opposing the plan. As recently as June 2026, RMC Sport reported that Infantino himself had shown little enthusiasm for the idea internally.worldsoccertalk+2

A 64-team tournament would feature 128 matches, double the 64-game format used from 1998 through 2022. The current 48-team format already produces 104 matches across the tournament.bbc+1

What Comes Next

No formal decision has been taken, and the FIFA Council will ultimately vote on any format change. Infantino's public statement that FIFA will now examine the expansion marks the clearest signal yet from the president himself that the proposal remains alive, even as the 2026 World Cup — the first at 48 teams — continues to unfold across North America.footballtransfers+2