FIFA wants to make the 2030 World Cup even bigger. As in, 64 teams bigger. The governing body is looking to appoint an independent agency to study whether expanding the tournament from 48 to 64 nations is actually viable — and they want the answer by September 11.
That's a four-week window to assess one of the most consequential decisions in football history. Make of that timeline what you will.
From 32 to 48 to... 64?
The 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico was already a leap — 32 teams became 48, four new groups were added, an extra knockout round was introduced, and the whole thing stretched across 104 matches over more than five weeks. Now FIFA is floating the idea of adding another 16 nations just four years later, for a tournament that's supposed to celebrate its 100th birthday with some kind of dignity.
CONMEBOL formally proposed the 64-team format last year, framing it as a centennial gift to the football world — more nations, more stories, more participation. In principle, that's a nice idea. In practice, the logistics are where it gets complicated.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was blunt about it last year: not a good idea. His position hasn't shifted. The Asian Football Confederation's Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa raised the same question a lot of fans are thinking — where does this end?
What FIFA's study will actually examine
To FIFA's credit, the research brief doesn't read like a done deal dressed up as a study. The agency they appoint will be expected to weigh:
- Competitive balance and whether adding 16 more teams dilutes the quality of the group stage
- Player welfare and the impact on an already congested international calendar
- Qualification implications for confederations — who gets more spots, who gets fewer
- Revenue projections across ticket sales, sponsorship and media rights
- Operational complexity of running a tournament this size
That last point matters more than it sounds. The 2030 edition is already split across three continents — Morocco, Portugal and Spain hosting the bulk of it, while Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay host one match each as a symbolic nod to the tournament's origins. Layering 64 teams onto that structure isn't a small ask.
From a betting market perspective, a 64-team format reshapes everything — qualification odds for smaller nations, group stage pricing, even the outright winner markets which already get murky when you're padding a draw with 48 sides. The stronger the dilution, the harder it becomes to price early-round games with any confidence.
FIFA said it will decide on an agency by August 14. The final recommendation should arrive September 11, with the document noting it must show not just whether a 64-team tournament generates incremental value, but whether that value is sustainable. That's the right question. Whether FIFA will act on the answer is a different matter entirely.
