FIFA President Gianni Infantino says football’s world governing body is open to considering a further expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking in an interview with Swiss news platform Blue News, Infantino said the proposal would be examined by FIFA’s relevant committees following the conclusion of the ongoing tournament.
According to him, expanding the competition would give more countries—particularly smaller footballing nations—the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage and encourage continued development of the game worldwide.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said.
“When organising a World Cup, it’s important to organise it for the whole world—not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.
“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.”
The ongoing FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, is the first edition of the tournament to feature 48 teams, up from the previous 32.
Infantino described the expanded format as a resounding success, saying it had increased competitiveness and provided more nations with an opportunity to showcase their talent.
“It’s been a huge success with 48 teams. Every team played at a high level,” he said.
“Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point. Nine out of ten African teams reached the knockout stage. At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams—to give them this opportunity to participate.”
The next World Cup, scheduled for 2030, will mark the tournament’s centenary. It will be hosted primarily by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with selected matches taking place in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina to commemorate the inaugural FIFA World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930.
