Alejandro Domínguez, president of the South American Football Confederation "CONMEBOL", sparked controversy over the number of teams participating in the 2030 World Cup.
The 2030 World Cup edition is scheduled to be held in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, with opening matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay in celebration of the centenary of the launch of the first edition of the tournament.
CONMEBOL President Sparks Controversy
Domínguez wrote on his personal account on the social media site "X": "The next tournament will be held on our land.. In 2030, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will host the World Cup, which is a great opportunity for football to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup with a competition featuring 64 teams".
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had previously stated that the possibility of increasing the number of teams to 64 in the next edition of the 2030 World Cup would be discussed.
Expanding the tournament to 64 teams has been repeatedly requested, especially by South American representatives, and Infantino's recent statements may also indicate his desire to show that he has spared no effort in this regard. The FIFA president had already attempted to increase the number of participating teams from 32 to 48 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar, but that attempt failed, before it was implemented in 2026.
The 2026 World Cup witnessed the participation of 48 teams for the first time in history, which was held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The 2026 World Cup, with the largest participation in the tournament's history with 48 teams, concluded after the Spanish national team ascended the podium, defeating the defending champions Argentina in the final match with a goal to nil.
