FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has confirmed that the world football governing body will consider a proposal to expand the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams from the 2030 edition, a move that could significantly increase Africa’s representation at the global tournament.
If adopted, the proposal would add 16 more teams to the competition after the 2026 World Cup, which has already been expanded from 32 to 48 participating nations.
Infantino made the disclosure in an interview with Swiss media outlet Bluewin, as reported by The New York Times on Sunday.
Addressing suggestions from some football stakeholders that the tournament should be enlarged to 64 teams, the FIFA president said the proposal would be reviewed by the organisation’s appropriate committees after the 2026 World Cup.
“It is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” he said.
Infantino maintained that increasing the number of participating nations is consistent with FIFA’s vision of making the World Cup more inclusive.
“The World Cup is for the whole world, not just Europe and South America,” Infantino said.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating 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.”
Should the expansion be approved, FIFA would likely allocate additional qualification slots to its continental confederations, potentially increasing Africa’s places beyond the 10 slots available under the current 48-team format.
Infantino also defended the expansion to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup, describing it as “100 percent a success,” despite concerns raised by some coaches and football administrators.
The idea of a 64-team World Cup was first presented by Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso during a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025.
It later gained support from CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez, who argued that a larger 2030 tournament would “unite the world, just once.”
The centenary edition of the World Cup will be staged across six countries on three continents. Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host the opening matches, while Morocco, Portugal and Spain will stage the rest of the competition.
However, the proposal has drawn criticism from some football authorities.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin labelled the plan a “bad idea,” insisting it would weaken both the World Cup and the European qualification process.
CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has also voiced his opposition, saying that further expanding the competition is “not a great idea.”
If the proposal is eventually approved, the 2030 World Cup would feature 64 teams, allowing more than a quarter of FIFA’s 210 member associations to participate and marking the largest expansion in the tournament’s history.
