Fifa president Gianni Infantino to look into expanding World Cup to 64-team format
This year’s edition is the first 48-nation tournament, a decision that was heavily criticised but has not provoked much debate recently
Any further expansion of the World Cup, such as increasing the number of teams taking part at the finals to 64, will be discussed after this year’s edition, Fifa president Gianni Infantino said without providing any details.
The 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States have seen 48 teams for the first time, a decision that was heavily criticised but which has not provoked much debate since the tournament kicked off on June 11.
“These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup,” Infantino, who successfully pushed for the expansion of the finals from 32 teams, told Swiss television outlet Blue Sport.
He did not elaborate, saying only: “I think it is important that when you want to organise a World Cup, you do it for the whole world – not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of taking part in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world.
“If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
