FIFA President Gianni Infantino continues to promote his vision of football being “for the whole world,” arguing that the FIFA World Cup should provide opportunities for more nations to participate in the tournament.
As part of that vision, discussions are reportedly underway to expand the 2030 FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, allowing even more countries to compete on football’s biggest stage.
Before the 2030 FIFA World Cup was officially awarded, CONMEBOL agreed to support the unprecedented proposal that sees the tournament hosted across six countries on three continents. As part of the agreement, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will each stage one opening match to commemorate the centenary of the first FIFA World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930.
Although CONMEBOL signed off on the arrangement, there has been disappointment within the South American confederation because it will host only three of the tournament’s 104 matches, with the remaining 101 games taking place in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Sky Sports senior reporter Kaveh Solhekol explains why FIFA is considering expanding the number of teams competing at the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
“The next World Cup is due to be held across three different countries and across three different continents as well.
“Of course, more games means more games live on TV, more commercial opportunities, more tickets to sell, more money for FIFA, money that they say they distribute all around the game. So that is the direction of travel”.
Infantino Highlighted during a press briefing that the 2026 FIFA World Cup showed that the new 48-team format has been a big success. He pointed to the fact that nine of the 10 African teams reached the knockout stage as proof that more teams now have a better chance to compete at the highest level.
“At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams – to give them this opportunity to participate.”
