Gianni Infantino takes first major step toward another World Cup expansion as FIFA sets crucial decision timeline
The proposal has emerged at a time when world soccer is already dealing with controversy over FIFA's commercial plans, leaving the future shape of the sport's biggest tournament under intense scrutiny. Gianni Infantino continues to be at the center of another major debate after FIFA moved closer to additional potential expansion of the men’s World Cup, with a key decision process now underway. The proposal has emerged at a time when world soccer is already dealing with controversy over FIFA’s commercial plans, leaving the future shape of the sport’s biggest tournament under intense scrutiny. The governing body has begun evaluating whether the 2030 World Cup could increase from 48 participating national teams to 64, a move that would mark another historic transformation only one edition after the competition expanded from 32 to 48 teams in 2026. While FIFA insists the process is still at the evaluation stage, the pace of developments has caught many stakeholders by surprise. According to documents seen by multiple media outlets, including ESPN, FIFA has started a consultation process and plans to appoint an independent agency to assess the sporting, financial and logistical consequences of another expansion. “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”, states FIFA’s research brief. Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain lifts the FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy Rather than making an immediate decision, the governing body wants the external study to examine whether the larger tournament would genuinely benefit world soccer or create more problems than opportunities. Decision process moves quickly One of the most striking aspects of the proposal is how quickly FIFA wants the review completed, ESPN, The Guardian and Doble Amarilla have revealed. The governing body has already distributed research documents to potential agencies and is aiming to select one by August 14, before receiving the completed analysis on September 11. That accelerated timeline means FIFA could have the necessary information in hand well before member associations vote on other major proposals later in September, including the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise project. Why 64 teams are back on agenda The idea of expanding to 64 national teams is not entirely new. South America’s governing body, CONMEBOL, officially proposed the format as part of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup in 2030. The tournament is already scheduled to be hosted primarily by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will each stage a centenary match to honor the inaugural World Cup played in Uruguay in 1930. Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez. Under a 64-team format, FIFA could revert to 16 groups of four teams, with the top two from each group advancing directly to a round of 32. That structure would simplify qualification for the knockout stage compared to the current 48-team model, which introduced additional complexity. Expanding the competition would also create more matches, more ticket sales, additional sponsorship inventory and greater broadcasting revenue. The 2026 World Cup, featuring 48 national teams and 104 matches, became the most commercially successful edition in tournament history. Increasing the field to 64 teams would raise the total number of matches even further, reportedly reaching 128 games.
