The upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest one yet as it will feature 48 teams, significantly more than the 32 nations we have seen previously. Despite this recent expansion, might we see yet another increase in the size of football’s biggest international tournament?
Although a 64-team tournament may seem a rather outrageous idea, it has been formally proposed by South American governing body Conmebol. To mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary, Conmebol wants to see 64 teams involved at the 2030 World Cup. FIFA confirmed they will consider the proposal, but how likely and viable is it?
How Did the 64-Team 2030 World Cup Idea Begin?
Although most of the 2030 World Cup will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, three matches will take place in South America (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). Why confine it to two different continents when you can use three hey? These special centenary match hosts have been selected to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup.
To make the event even more special though, a delegate from Uruguay (hosts of the first ever World Cup), Ignacio Alonso, suggested expanding the tournament to 64 teams during a FIFA board meeting in early March. Although this was something of a spontaneous proposal made during the ‘miscellaneous’ section of the meeting, it later received the formal backing of Conmebol.
Conmebol President Proposes Idea
Speaking the following month, Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez said a 64-team tournament will “allow all countries to have the opportunity to live the world experience and so nobody on the planet is left out of the party”. He also clarified it would be a one-off centennial celebration, rather than proposing that 64-team tournaments become the new norm. Perhaps Dominguez really does just want to celebrate, but it is worth noting that Conmebol (10 nations) would likely receive a minimum of eight berths should this expansion go ahead.
As the proposal has been submitted officially by a tournament co-host, FIFA will consider the proposal and its viability. A FIFA spokesperson said “the idea was acknowledged as FIFA has a duty to analyse any proposal from one of its Council members”. They did not state when the idea would be discussed, however.
What Has the Reaction Been?
UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF reject CONMEBOL’s proposal for 64-team World Cuphttps://t.co/Lm2aM3x6lA
— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) April 16, 2025
Rather unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of backlash to a 64-team tournament. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani expressed his disagreement, saying “I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.” The Asian Football Confederation also publicly spoke out against the plans believing it could lead to “chaos”.
Over in Europe, Aleksander Čeferin has previously voiced his opposition to the plan, stating plainly, “I think it is a bad idea.” Fan sentiment is also against the proposal as it reduces the prestige of the event and will lower the overall quality. With 64 teams, this opens the door to a lot of nations who would normally fall way short of qualification.
Will FIFA Consider It?
Given how unpopular a 64-team 2030 World Cup currently is, you might think that FIFA will be quick to dismiss this proposal at the first opportunity. Do not be so sure though as Gianni Infantino has already shown us he is not afraid of making unpopular decisions. You only have to look at the fan reaction to the announcement that the 2026 World Cup final will have a half-time show curated by Coldplay.
What matters more than fan sentiment in these decisions is money. Shock news, we’re sure! If FIFA believes that a 64-team tournament could be more lucrative, then they will likely look into how viable it might be. This was no doubt the motivation for Infantino’s proposal to hold the World Cup every two years. When this did not have the necessary support, he then suggested every three years following the commercial success of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The point being made here is that FIFA does not need this idea to have overwhelming support, provided it makes commercial sense. Even if it would be a big financial success though, a 64-team tournament would still need to be logistically viable for it to take place, and this is something that looks far from certain.
Is a 64-Team Tournament Even Possible?
Although there have been no specific details released on how a 64-team tournament would work, it would most likely see 128 matches played, double the number there were at the 2022 World Cup. Although the 2030 tournament is scheduled to be longer by two weeks, it may need to be extended even more to fit so many matches in.
Space Issues
There is also the question if the three main host nations could appropriately accommodate 64 teams across them. Each country will bring a 26-man squad plus all the supporting staff, managers etc. Squads will also require somewhere to train during the tournament so finding space for them could be tricky. There will also be a big strain on regular accommodation and infrastructure because you will have fans from 64 countries wanting to attend the action.
Environmental Concerns
There will be environmental concerns too but this is unlikely to be much of a factor, given FIFA were happy to expand the 2026 tournament and have decided to host three matches of the 2030 tournament 6,000 miles away! What FIFA may be more bothered by is the fact that such a large tournament expansion makes the qualification stage redundant for a lot of the bigger teams. It could even be that Conmebol gets 10 places and can completely scrap qualification altogether.
It is important to remember that when Morocco, Portugal, and Spain announced plans to launch a joint bid in 2020, FIFA had already agreed on the expansion to 48 teams. None of the countries, however, would have anticipated the possibility of hosting an extra 16 nations on top of this. Would they have still made a bid knowing this was the case, as it is likely to be more unpopular with local residents who are concerned with overtourism?
Bottom Line
At this stage, you cannot rule out the possibility that the 2030 World Cup may feature 64 teams. FIFA will consider its viability and whether it is worth doing from a financial perspective. Such a proposal is unpopular, however, and poses serious logistical challenges. Even if FIFA are willing to ignore the first issue, they cannot ignore the second. These logistical challenges probably mean a 64-team tournament in 2030 is ultimately not viable, but FIFA do have a habit of surprising us…