Spanish league chief criticizes FIFA over 64-team World Cup talks
Javier Tebas said FIFA is putting the World Cup ahead of domestic football after Gianni Infantino raised a possible 64-team tournament in 2030.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Spanish league president Javier Tebas has accused FIFA of mishandling football’s calendar after its president, Gianni Infantino, raised the prospect of a 64-team World Cup in 2030. Tebas said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport that the global body was giving too much weight to its flagship tournament at the expense of domestic leagues, according to Al Jazeera and AFP.
The criticism followed Infantino’s comments at the World Cup opening ceremony in June, where he referred to “discussions about expanding to 64 teams” for the 2030 edition. That tournament will mark the World Cup’s centenary and is due to be hosted mainly by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with some matches also set for Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, according to Al Jazeera and AFP.
Tebas, who leads La Liga, described FIFA’s conduct as “irresponsibly” handled in the interview published Tuesday by the Italian sports daily. He also said Infantino’s time in charge of FIFA was “over,” according to Al Jazeera and AFP.
His comments add to a long-running dispute over the number of matches elite players are asked to play across club and international competitions. Tebas said La Liga and others had repeatedly raised concerns about the competition calendar before FIFA began discussing a further expansion of the World Cup.
“The football industry is not just about the World Cup, however important it may be,” Tebas said, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. “They are destroying the football industry – which generates tens of thousands of jobs – for an event that lasts 40 days and involves only a minority of players.”
The World Cup has already expanded for the 2026 tournament, though Tebas’s latest criticism focused on the possibility of another jump in 2030. He argued that domestic competitions carry the sport through most of the year and should receive stronger protection from FIFA’s scheduling choices.
“We have repeatedly expressed our concerns about the competition calendar. And now they want to organise a 64-team World Cup,” Tebas said, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. He added that “it is the domestic leagues that keep this sport alive.”
Tebas also criticized how FIFA leaders are chosen, calling the election system “fundamentally flawed,” according to Al Jazeera and AFP. He said that system had helped Infantino remain at the head of world football’s governing body for a decade.
Infantino has led FIFA since 2016. Tebas’s remarks directly targeted both the president and the institution he runs, framing the 64-team proposal as part of a broader failure to balance national-team events with club football.
“We need fewer national teams and better protection for domestic football at all levels,” Tebas said, according to Al Jazeera and AFP. “They don’t realise this and are making decisions irresponsibly.”
FIFA did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on Tebas’s accusations.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.