WORLD CUP | Infantino Says FIFA Will Assess 64-Team Men’s World Cup Plans After 2026

FIFA will pick up and assess plans for a 64-team men’s World Cup in detail after the 2026 tournament, with president Gianni Infantino saying the sport needs to be “for the whole world,” according to Yahoo Sports. Infantino said the expanded 48-team format has been “a huge success” and argued that giving smaller nations a chance to qualify helps drive improvement. FIFA approved expansion from 32 to 48 teams in 2017. Conmebol submitted an official proposal in April 2025 to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, but no decision has been reached; the 2030 tournament is set to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with the opening matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa have criticized the idea, while Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said it “doesn’t feel right.”