Gianni Infantino has declared that FIFA will “certainly” study expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 nations, a proposal that would reshape the 2030 centenary tournament and has already split football’s continental governing bodies. Speaking to the Swiss outlet Blue Sport during the ongoing 2026 finals, the FIFA president argued that “the whole world must be allowed to dream of the World Cup, not just Europe and South America,” and described the leap from 32 to 48 teams as “a great success.” His intervention comes after the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, formally proposed a one-off 64-team edition for 2030, when the tournament will be staged across Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

The current 48-team tournament, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, has delivered a record 104 matches but also a cascade of officiating rows. Egypt filed an official complaint against French referee François Letexier after a disallowed goal and a denied penalty in their last-16 defeat to Argentina. Separately, FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended a red-card ban for American forward Florian Balogun following an intervention by US President Donald Trump, allowing him to face Belgium in the round of 16. The episodes have fuelled accusations, particularly from Arab and African football circles, that the governing body has shown favouritism towards Argentina and its captain Lionel Messi.

Infantino’s rationale rests on what he calls a steady rise in the quality of national teams worldwide, a view that supporters of expansion say is borne out by the competitiveness of the enlarged 2026 group stage. A 64-team format would eliminate the current system of best third-placed qualifiers, with the top two from each group advancing directly to a knockout phase, and would swell the match count to 128. Proponents, including many officials in South America and parts of Asia and Africa, argue it would unlock new revenue streams from broadcasting and sponsorship while granting more nations a direct stake in the sport’s showpiece.

Yet the idea has met stiff resistance from other power centres. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has labelled it “bad” for both the tournament and its qualifying process, while CONCACAF chief Victor Montagliani warned it could damage the football ecosystem. Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa cautioned that a further expansion risked “organisational chaos,” and former Germany coach Joachim Löw said it would be excessive, threatening player welfare and match quality. Persian-language reports note that any 64-team edition would be a temporary measure, with the 2034 tournament in Saudi Arabia expected to revert to 48 sides.

FIFA will conduct its evaluation after the 2026 final, with the 2030 hosts already locked in across three continents. A decision to grant a centenary expansion would mark the most dramatic reconfiguration of the World Cup since the tournament’s inception, and the debate is set to intensify as confederations weigh the financial upside against the sporting and logistical costs.