Read 3 minutesUpdated: 13 July 2026 12:28 PM IST
Following the success of the 48-team World Cup, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has already discussed expansion, expressing his desire to go to 64 teams before the 2030 World Cup. The Swiss lawyer said the competition should be “for the whole world”, but admitted it would be premature to discuss the matter now.
“All these issues we will examine after the World Cup,” Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport.
Infantino stressed the importance of the World Cup being open to as many nations as possible, not just the best in Europe and South America. “When hosting the World Cup, it is important to host it for the whole world – not just Europe and South America, but the whole world.” “Every country should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup,” he added.
After island nation Cape Verde’s stunning performances in the group stage against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, it is hard to ignore the rise in quality among the smaller nations. “You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high and it’s getting higher and higher all over the world.”
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Infantino said that expanding the edition would give hope to more such countries and, “If you don’t give small countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they don’t have the incentive to keep improving.”
The first 48-team World Cup was considered a “huge success” by Infantino, with nine out of ten African teams successfully reaching the knockout stages, although only two, Morocco and Egypt, reached the round of 16. Morocco was once again the African nation that went the farthest, but was bowled out by 201 in the quarter-finals. France.
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Infantino cited the small number of African nations last time in 2022 as an additional incentive for expansion. “There were only five teams from Africa at the last World Cup,” he said. “It just shows how important it is to include all teams — to give them the opportunity to participate.”
The 2030 World Cup will mainly be hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. To celebrate the tournament’s centenary, the three opening matches will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, with Uruguay being honored as the host of the inaugural tournament in 1930.
Although CONMEBOL, the South American governing body, has submitted a formal proposal to increase the size of the tournament to 64 teams in April 2025, a final decision is yet to be made.