With the 2026 World Cup nearing its conclusion, FIFA’s top official is already looking ahead — and potentially bigger — for 2030.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed in an interview with Swiss media outlet Bluewin that the organization may consider adding another 16 teams to the World Cup field, bumping participation from 48 to 64 nations for the 2030 edition.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino told Bluewin.
He went on to explain his reasoning, saying, “When organizing a World Cup, it’s important to organize 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. 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.”
The World Cup featured 32 teams from 1998 through 2022. This year’s 2026 tournament marked the first time the field was expanded to 48 countries.
Only four nations remain in contention — Argentina, England, France, and Spain. Two semifinal matches and the championship game are all that stand between now and the end of a 104-game tournament that was held across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Infantino described the expanded 48-team format as a “huge success.”
“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point,” he said. “Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. 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 — to give them this opportunity to participate.”
The 2030 World Cup is already shaping up to be a sprawling, multi-continent event. The opening three matches are set to take place in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay — one game per country — while the bulk of the tournament will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. If the field grows to 64 teams, those three South American host nations could each take on a full four-team group rather than just a single match.
