FIFA is already talking about going bigger. The 2026 World Cup hasn't even finished — the first-ever 48-team edition spanning the US, Canada and Mexico — and Gianni Infantino has confirmed football's governing body will examine expanding the tournament to 64 teams, potentially as soon as 2030.
That's not a gradual evolution. That's a structural overhaul of the biggest sporting event on earth.
How a 64-team tournament would actually be structured
The most logical format mirrors what worked from 1998 to 2022, just doubled. Sixteen groups of four teams, with the top two advancing from each. That produces a 32-team knockout stage — which, for context, was the entire tournament not long ago.
From there, the bracket runs the familiar path:
- Round of 32
- Round of 16
- Quarterfinals
- Semifinals
- Final
Total matches: 128. That's double the 64 played in the 32-team era, and a significant jump from the 104 scheduled for 2026. Three-team groups — floated and then abandoned for 2026 due to real concerns about collusion and scheduling fairness — almost certainly wouldn't return. Four-team groups restore competitive integrity, even if the fixture list balloons.
A tournament of this scale would likely stretch beyond a month. The 2030 edition is already spread across South America, Europe and Africa — three continents before any expansion is factored in. Logistics, player workload, and the sheer number of stadiums required all become serious structural problems, not footnotes.
Qualification loses its teeth — and that's the real debate
With 64 spots on offer from a pool of 210+ FIFA members, nearly one-third of all nations qualify. CONMEBOL currently sends six teams to a 48-team World Cup. Under a 64-team model, South America might see the majority of its members qualify automatically. Winning a grueling two-year qualification campaign stops feeling like an achievement when most of your continental rivals are going anyway.
Infantino's argument is straightforward: more teams means more global representation, more investment, more development. Supporters — particularly in South America, eager to use 2030's centenary status as a showcase — back the expansion on those grounds.
The opposition, led largely by European football's power structures, raises three objections that don't go away just because you reframe them: the tournament becomes too long, group-stage games lose competitive edge when qualification is almost guaranteed, and the player welfare problem — an already congested calendar — gets structurally worse with no clear solution in sight.
The World Cup has grown from 16 teams to 24, to 32, and now 48. Each step was debated. Each step happened. A jump to 64 would be the steepest yet — and the betting landscape around World Cup qualification markets across every confederation would look fundamentally different if it does.
FIFA has confirmed the discussion begins after 2026 concludes. That's the only firm date on the table right now.
