The entity that governs football, FIFA (International Federation of Football), will analyze a proposal to expand the World Cup from 2030 to 64 teams to mark the centenary of the main event of the sport.
The 2030 World Cup will be held in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, where the inaugural edition was held, scheduled to host three games.
The World Cup has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams for next year’s edition in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“A proposal to analyze a FIFA World Cup with 64 teams to celebrate the centenary in 2030 was spontaneously raised by a member of the FIFA council at the top of the agenda near the end of the FIFA Council meeting held on March 5, 2025,” FIFA spokesman told Reuters.
“The idea has been recognized because FIFA has a duty to analyze any proposal for one of its board members.”
Earlier this Thursday (6), the New York Times reported that the proposal was made by Ignacio Alonso, a delegate from Uruguay.
The newspaper, which did not name its sources, said the proposal was received with ‘astonished silence’ by the participants.
The publication added that according to three people at the meeting, “FIFA would probably be guided by financial and political benefits as much as sports when making a decision on the subject.”
“(FIFA President) Mr. Infantino … he described the proposal as interesting and should be analyzed more closely,” added the New York Times, according to “four people with direct knowledge of the discussions.”
