FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed that FIFA will study a proposal to increase the number of participating teams in the World Cup to 64 teams starting from the 2030 edition.
The current edition of the 2026 World Cup was held with the participation of 48 teams for the first time.
Infantino said via the Swiss site Bluewin: "The idea of holding a World Cup with the participation of 64 teams will definitely be discussed within the relevant committees after this tournament".
Infantino explained that the idea will be discussed within the relevant committees after the end of the next tournament, pointing out that the goal is to give more countries the opportunity to participate.
He added: "The World Cup is a tournament for the whole world, not just for Europe and South America. Every country should have the chance to dream of participating".
He continued: "The level of teams is constantly developing around the world, and if small countries do not get a chance, they will have no incentive to improve".
FIFA President stressed that "increasing the number of teams to 48 in the 2026 edition was 100% successful".
The 2026 edition was held with the participation of 48 teams in the United States, Canada and Mexico, after the tournament had been held with 32 teams from 1998 until 2022.
As for the 2030 edition, it will be held across three continents, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting the opening matches, while the rest of the matches will be held in Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
The proposal comes after an official request from South American officials, as Ignacio Alonso presented the idea during a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025.
Alejandro Domínguez, President of the South American Football Confederation, also supported the proposal, describing it as a "dream" to unite the world through the tournament.
On the other hand, the proposal faces opposition from some officials, as Aleksander Čeferin said the idea is "bad" and could negatively affect the quality of the tournament and European qualifiers.
It is worth noting that expanding the tournament could lead to the participation of more than a quarter of the world's teams, which could reduce the value of continental qualifiers, especially in South America, from which a large number already qualify.
