FIFA reportedly considering expanding World Cup to 64 teams for centennial celebration in 2030

FIFA is said to be considering the idea of ​​a one -off world cup of 64 teams in 2030 to commemorate the centenary of the tournament, which would mark the second consecutive expansion of the tournament.

The idea was introduced by the end of a recent FIFA meeting by Ignacio Alonso, a delegate from Uruguay who read a prepared speech in English, Per the New York Times. While others at the virtual meeting were reportedly shocked by the proposal, FIFA president Gianni Infantino interested and said that the idea should be studied more detailed.

Alonso’s proposal is expected to be opposed, just like the previous pitch of FIFA to hold the World Cup every two years instead of the current timeline of every four years. A committee was formed to explore that idea, but after a year their work came to an end.

From a 64 team of the World Cup-especially one in the somewhat short-term-it is expected to be dealing with logistical fighting, especially during a tournament that will be unconventional from that point of view. FIFA has awarded the hosting rights to the 2030 edition to six countries on three continents – Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. There are also questions about the quality of a competition of 64 teams, because it would include more than a quarter of the FIFA members and certain World Cup qualifying matches could usually consider it useless.

Infantino’s expansion plans

The World Cup Heren was a competition of 32 teams from 1998 to the most recent iteration in 2022. Infantino was not the first person to suggest that the World Cup was expanding to 48 teams, but he turned the idea into a reality, even if it was a unpopular idea of ​​both a logistics and competition.

The World Cup 2026, Cohost by the US, Mexico and Canada, will be the first to organize 48 teams. The competition lasts 39 days, nine days longer than a tournament of 32 teams, and will also be played 104 games, an increase of 64.

Various other competitions are extensive under the leadership of Infantino. The World Cup World Cup went from a 16-team competition in 2011 to the organization of 24 teams in 2015 and 2019 before he expanded to 32 in 2023. Infantino also investigated the Men’s Club World Cup again from an annual eight-team competition to a four-year tournament with 32 teams. Some extensions have been more popular than others – while the changes in the World Cup for women have been seen as a necessary step to adapt to the rapid growth of women’s football, the Club World Cup is seen as a burden for players who are already dealing with the consequences of congestion of the competition.