A proposal to expand the FIFA World Cup to an unprecedented 64 teams for the 2030 centenary tournament is reportedly under consideration after top South American football executives met with FIFA on Tuesday.
CONMEBOL pushes for maximum scale
While next summer’s 2026 World Cup will already be the largest ever with 48 teams, the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, is pushing for an even grander scale in 2030. The confederation is determined to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the tournament—which was first held in Uruguay in 1930—by hosting as many matches as possible on the continent.
The 2030 World Cup is currently scheduled to be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with three ceremonial opening matches slated for Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. CONMEBOL’s proposal seeks to significantly increase the number of participating nations and, consequently, the number of games played.
To advance their vision, FIFA leaders met on Tuesday in New York with the heads of state from Uruguay and Paraguay, along with the leadership of CONMEBOL and the head of Argentina’s football association.
“We want to call for unity, creativity, and believing big,” said CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez in a social media post following the meeting. “Because when football is shared by everyone, the celebration is truly global.”
Dominguez emphasized the significance of the event, stating, “As we get closer to the date, we must reiterate that this cannot be just another event, it cannot be just another World Cup. We believe this is a once-in-a-century opportunity.”
Impact of expanded tournament
FIFA is obligated to consider all proposals and ideas presented by its member associations. However, a 64-team tournament is not currently a stated policy priority for the current FIFA administration, and no decision has been made regarding the expansion of the 2030 event.
Should the 64-team plan be adopted, nearly a third of FIFA’s 211 member associations would qualify for the finals. This level of expansion would likely render the qualifying process little more than a formality for many of the world’s strongest sides.
The concept of a 64-team World Cup was first formally raised at a FIFA Council meeting in March by Uruguay FA President Ignacio Alonso. In May, his confederation president, Dominguez, reinforced the sentiment by stating that “no one should be left out” of the 2030 World Cup.
Historically, the World Cup final tournament expanded to 24 teams in 1982 (Spain) and subsequently to 32 teams in 1998 (France).