A 64-team World Cup could shift football’s money and power
FIFA’s president has said further expansion could be studied, raising questions about qualifiers, host demands and the football calendar.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has left open the possibility of expanding the World Cup to 64 teams, a change Reuters reported could reshape how money and influence move through global football. The idea follows the first 48-team tournament and has already drawn resistance from major regional officials.
Infantino told Swiss television during the tournament that a 64-team World Cup was one of the ideas that could be examined after the final, according to Reuters. He has argued that the tournament should serve countries beyond Europe and South America, saying smaller nations need access to the World Cup as an incentive to improve.
The next expansion would carry clear sporting and commercial effects, Reuters reported. Easier qualification for major football nations could reduce the value of regional qualifying competitions, while making FIFA’s main tournament even more central to the sport’s finances.
That shift could matter for FIFA’s six regional confederations, according to Reuters. If broadcasters pay less for qualifying campaigns, those bodies could rely more heavily on FIFA distributions, giving the world governing body greater financial influence.
Opposition from regional leaders
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin rejected the idea last year, Reuters reported. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for the World Cup itself, and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers either. So I’m not supporting that idea,” Ceferin said, adding that UEFA’s stance has not changed.
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has also opposed further growth, according to Reuters. He questioned last year where continued expansion would stop.
The 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States was the first tournament since 1998 to move beyond 32 teams, Reuters reported. It featured 48 teams, 104 matches and lasted more than five weeks.
If FIFA kept four-team groups and a 32-team knockout round, a 64-team version would require 128 matches, Reuters calculated. That would be 24 more than in 2026 and twice the number played under the 32-team format.
Reuters reported that such a format could add about a week to the competition unless FIFA shortened the schedule or staged more games at the same time. More teams would also mean greater demand for stadiums, training bases, hotels, transport and volunteers.
Host nations and calendar pressure
The 2030 World Cup is planned mainly for Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay each hosting one opening-round match to mark the tournament’s centenary, Reuters reported. Spreading 64 teams across six countries would be a major organising task, and staging such an event in one country could be harder.
Saudi Arabia is due to host the 2034 World Cup alone and already faces scheduling issues, according to Reuters. Ramadan is expected to begin in mid-November that year, complicating any attempt to repeat the November-December window used for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Saudi Arabia has proposed 15 venues for the current 48-team format, including eight stadiums in Riyadh and four in Jeddah, with others in Khobar, Neom and Abha, Reuters reported. Construction and renovation work is already under way before the 2027 Asian Cup.
A larger tournament would also increase pressure on the international calendar, Reuters reported. Japan’s J-League is preparing to switch to an August-to-May season, while Major League Soccer plans a similar change from next year, meaning future winter World Cups could affect more domestic competitions than in 2022.
Reuters also reported that World Cups can strain national federation budgets. French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo said France expected to spend 24.5 million euros, or $28 million, at this year’s tournament and would probably need to reach at least the semifinals to avoid losing money.
At the FIFA Congress in Vancouver in April, Diallo said FIFA should give more financial support to participating nations, according to Reuters. A longer 64-team event could raise those costs further while adding to concerns about player workload, competitive balance, fan expenses and the tournament’s exclusivity.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.