FIFA to discuss expanding 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, says Infantino

Speaking to Swiss media outlet Bluewin, Infantino said increasing the number of participating teams from 48 to 64 was an idea worth considering.

"That s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup," he said.

Infantino said the World Cup should represent the entire world rather than being dominated by traditional football powers.

"When organising a World Cup, it s important to organise it for the whole world — not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup," he said.

He added that football standards were improving across all continents and that giving more countries a chance to compete would encourage further development.

"You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high — and it s getting higher and higher all over the world. If you don t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they ll lack the incentive to keep improving," Infantino added.

The FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams from 1998 through 2022 before expanding to 48 teams for the 2026 edition.

With the tournament now in its final stages, Argentina, England, France and Spain remain in contention after an expanded 104-match competition held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Infantino described the 48-team format as a "huge success".

"Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point. Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. 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 and give them this opportunity to participate," he said.

The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be hosted across six countries on three continents.

The opening three matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, while the remainder of the tournament will be staged in Morocco, Portugal and Spain.

If FIFA approves expansion to 64 teams, the three South American hosts could each stage an entire four-team group instead of hosting a single opening match.