ZURICH (Kashmir English): The World football’s governing body, FIFA, is studying whether to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams for the 2030 edition in a move that could reshape soccer’s showpiece tournament when it celebrates its centennial.
FIFA is mulling to appoint an independent agency to assess the ambitious expansion plan, which would add another 16 teams to a tournament that had already grown from 32 to 48 teams in 2026.
FIFA World Cup 2030
“FIFA wishes to appoint an independent agency to determine whether and how expanding the FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 participating national teams, starting with the 2030 edition, would impact on the tournament proposition,” said a FIFA research brief seen by a international news agency.
South American confederation CONMEBOL had officially proposed hosting the next World Cup with 64 teams last year, allowing more nations the opportunity to join in the celebrations for the tournament’s centennial edition.
It was in the 2026 edition jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico when the tournament moved away from the 32-team format, adding four more groups and an extra knockout round in the process, resulting in 104 matches over more than five weeks.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said last year that expanding the World Cup to 64 teams was not a good idea.
The European governing body’s position has not changed since then, while Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had also voiced opposition, questioning last year where further expansion might end.
The 2030 FIFA World Cup would be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and reigning champions Spain, while beaten finallists Argentina along with fellow South American nations Paraguay and Uruguay will host one match each to celebrate the tournament’s 100th anniversary.
