The 2026 World Cup, featuring 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.
Amid discussions about the largest tournament in history, news began circulating about the possibility of holding the 2030 edition with 64 teams, coinciding with centenary celebrations of the first World Cup.
How will the 2030 World Cup be held?
Most matches of the tournament will be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Since the World Cup will celebrate the centenary of its first edition in Uruguay in 1930, one match has been allocated to each of Argentina (Buenos Aires), Paraguay (Asunción), and Uruguay (Montevideo).
These three matches are scheduled to take place at the beginning of the tournament to allow sufficient time for the participating teams to acclimate after traveling to Europe and Africa.
Their second matches are expected to be held 11 to 12 days after their opening matches, and the tournament is currently scheduled to run from June 8 to July 21, making it, at 44 days, the longest World Cup in history.
How realistic is holding a World Cup with 64 teams?
According to what is circulating in global media from experts, expanding the tournament by adding 16 teams is considered nearly impossible logistically, as a tournament with 64 teams requires 128 matches, an increase of 24 matches over this year and double the number of matches in the 2022 edition, which had 64 matches.
This would require holding more matches in South America, increasing travel demands. However, during the current tournament in North America, FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the matter will certainly be discussed after the World Cup, because the entire world should dream of the World Cup, not just Europe and South America.
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 for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, but that attempt failed before being implemented in 2026.
Where will the 2030 World Cup matches be held?
Current plans include six stadiums in Morocco, three in Portugal, and eleven in Spain.
The largest of these is Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, with a capacity of 103,000 spectators after renovation works are completed, and the newly built Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca, which, with a capacity of 115,000 spectators, will become the largest football stadium in the world.
What is the 2030 World Cup qualification system?
In Europe, the qualification system for the 2030 World Cup will be adjusted to align with the league system used in UEFA competitions, where teams competed in groups of four or five teams on a home-and-away basis, with group winners qualifying directly while runners-up retained a chance to qualify through playoffs.
Under the new system, the top 36 teams from the UEFA Nations League will be divided into three groups, each containing 12 teams.
Each team will play six matches against six different teams, and the results of these matches will form a standings table for each group. The top teams qualify directly, while the remaining spots are decided through playoffs. UEFA has not yet determined the exact distribution of the groups, while teams outside the top 36 will also compete in a league format.
The six host nations qualify automatically, and qualification in other continental confederations may require a radical adjustment if the tournament is expanded, in order to adapt to this in the qualification mechanism.
2030 World Cup Schedule
- Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9, 2030: Centenary celebration ceremonies and Uruguay's first match in Montevideo, Argentina's match on home soil, and Paraguay's match on home soil
- Thursday, June 13 and Friday, June 14, 2030: Opening ceremony and the opening match(es) of the 2030 World Cup
- Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16, 2030: The first matches for the other teams belonging to the groups of Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.
- Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22, 2030: The second matches for all teams belonging to the groups of Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay
- Sunday, July 21, 2030: 2030 World Cup Final
