It's now or never for Harambee Stars: Infantino hints at possibility of 64-team World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that world football's governing body will examine the possibility of expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams after the 2026 tournament, insisting the competition should offer every nation a realistic chance of qualifying.

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino argued that the World Cup must represent the entire globe rather than remain dominated by Europe's and South America's traditional powers.

"These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup," Infantino said when asked about a potential 64-team tournament.

"When organising a World Cup, it's important to organise it for the whole world - not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup."

The FIFA chief believes expanding the competition would encourage football's developing nations to keep improving.

"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."

Infantino pointed to the success of the expanded 48-team World Cup as evidence that a larger tournament can work, highlighting the strong performances of African nations.

"At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams and give them this opportunity to participate."

TACTICAL ANALYSIS: How France made light work of Morocco to advance to World Cup semi-final

The World Cup was expanded from 32 to 48 teams after FIFA Council approval in 2017, while an official proposal to increase the 2030 edition to 64 teams was submitted by South American football body CONMEBOL in April 2025. No decision has yet been taken.

Any further expansion, however, faces significant resistance across world football.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has dismissed the proposal as "a bad idea" for both the tournament and the qualification process, while Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that another expansion could create "chaos."

Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has also voiced his opposition, saying a 64-team World Cup "doesn't feel right" and could damage football's wider ecosystem.

FIFA's official stance remains that every proposal submitted by its council members must be considered. While no immediate decision is expected, Infantino's latest comments suggest the debate over the future size of football's biggest tournament is far from over.

The 2030 World Cup is scheduled to be hosted primarily by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay staging the opening matches to mark the tournament's centenary.