Fifa president Gianni Infantino has opened up the possibility of a 64-team World Cup, saying plans will be assessed after the conclusion of the 2026 finals.
This year's tournament, being jointly held in the US, Canada and Mexico, was expanded to 48 teams for the first time, a decision which was heavily criticised when it was approved by the Fifa Council in 2017 but has largely been met with praise during the ongoing tournament.
The proposal to add a further 16 teams was put forward last year, and Infantino says the success of the expanded 48-team tournament means Fifa should look at how a 64-team World Cup could work.
"These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup," Infantino, who successfully pushed for the expansion of the finals from 32 teams, told Swiss television outlet Blue Sport.
He did not elaborate, saying only: "I think it is important that when you want to organise a World Cup, you do 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.”
Best photos of the 2026 World Cup - in pictures
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Mikel Merino celebrates scoring his team's second goal against Belgium in Inglewood. AFP -
Messi controls the ball against Switzerland's Granit Xhaka during the quarter-final match between Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City. AFP -
Jude Bellingham celebrates after winning the quarter-final match between Norway and England in Miami. AFP -
France talisman Kylian Mbappe was on target in his team's 2-0 quarter-final victory over Morocco. EPA -
Gessime Yassine looks dejected after the match as Morocco's World Cup comes to an end. Reuters -
Displaced Palestinians gather to watch the match between Egypt and Argentina in Gaza city. EPA -
Fans in Buenos Aires celebrate Argentina's victory against Egypt. Getty Images -
Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his team's second goal against Egypt in Atlanta. AFP -
Gregor Kobel of Switzerland saves Cucho Hernandez's penalty for Colombia in the shoot-out in Vancouver. AFP -
Portugal's Bernardo Silva is left in disbelief after a missed chance against Spain, in Arlington. Reuters -
Cristiano Ronaldo is dejected after the match against Spain, as his Portugal team are eliminated from the World Cup. Reuters -
Belgium's Hans Vanaken scores their third goal past Matt Freese of the US, in Seattle. Reuters -
Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere scores their first goal against the US. Reuters -
England captain Harry Kane celebrates scoring his team's third goal in the 3-2 win over Mexico in Mexico City. AFP -
Australian referee Alireza Faghani shows a red card to England defender Jarell Quansah against Mexico. AFP -
England manager Thomas Tuchel reacts during the match. Reuters -
Erling Haaland scores his and Norway's second goal against Brazil. AFP -
Brazil winger Vinicius Junior remonstrates with assistant referee Corey Parker. Reuters -
Brazil forward Neymar slumps to his knees as the final whistle is blown. AFP -
France forward Desire Doue is surrounded by Paraguay defenders in the penalty box in Philadelphia. France won 1-0 thanks to a penalty from Kylian Mbappe. AFP
The 2026 finals welcomed debutants Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao. All gave relatively good accounts of themselves, with Cape Verde, the third-smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup, reaching the Round of 32 where they pushed world champions Argentina all the way before succumbing 3-2 in extra time.
Infantino hailed the 48-team tournament as a success, saying: "Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point.
“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,” he added.
The size of the World Cup field was increased to 32 teams in 1998. The next finals in 2030 are to be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, and the 2034 tournament will be in Saudi Arabia.
An official proposal to boost the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams was put forward by the South American governing body Conmebol in April 2025, but no decision has been reached.
Fifa may have a hard time selling the 64-team idea. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin dismissed it as a "bad idea" while his Asian Football Confederation counterpart, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, said any further expansion of the World Cup would be "chaos".
Infantino defends hydration breaks
Infantino, who rarely gives media interviews and has limited his number of formal press conferences, admitted that introducing hydration breaks during each half, which many have seen as a cynical attempt to help television partners get more advertising revenue, had proved controversial.
“This is a topic that sparks a lot of debate. After all, we don’t want to get everything perfect; we like to give everyone something to disagree with ... no, joking aside. Last year, during the Club World Cup in the USA, there were cooling breaks whenever it was very hot.
“These short breaks occurred in about 60% of the matches but not in the other 40% because the temperature wasn't as high. There were many complaints, as the feeling was that all teams should face the same conditions,” he said.
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