The suggestion to expand the men’s 2030 World Cup to include 64 teams has been described as “a bad idea” by UEFA President Aleksander ?eferin. As a FIFA vice president, ?eferin attended a virtual meeting on March 6 with the world soccer body’s ruling council, during which the proposal unexpectedly emerged from a Uruguayan delegate.
“This proposal was perhaps even more surprising for me than for you,” ?eferin commented during a press conference following UEFA’s annual meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. “I think it is a bad idea.” Adding an extra 16 teams to the 48-team structure, set to debut next year in North America, seems to have garnered support from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Infantino typically advocates for expanding competitions, viewing it as a method to generate revenue and foster global development of the sport.
However, critics of this 64-team vision argue that it may compromise the standard of play, potentially resulting in a vast 128-game format. They also warn it could diminish the value of the qualifying processes across various continents due to the additional slots. “It is not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers as well,” ?eferin noted.
The European confederation, UEFA, will have 16 qualifying slots in the 2026 World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. To accommodate this, UEFA has revised its qualifying structure to include more groups—now totaling 12—allowing many teams to play fewer games over a compressed 10-week period from September to November this year.
?eferin also expressed skepticism regarding the Uruguayan origin of the expansion idea, particularly as Uruguay is scheduled to host just one game in 2030. This event, marking the World Cup’s centennial, is already set to be the most intricate, spanning three continents. UEFA nations Spain and Portugal will co-host alongside Morocco, with South American countries Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay each hosting one game to commemorate the tournament’s 100-year legacy. The original 1930 competition was held in Uruguay.
“It is strange that we did not know anything before this proposal at the FIFA council,” ?eferin said. “I don’t know where it came from.” Despite making a keynote address to UEFA’s 55 member federations earlier on Thursday, Infantino did not mention the potential 64-team World Cup.
As of now, FIFA has not disclosed any details about how and when it might consider this proposal. FIFA’s annual congress, involving 211 member federations, is scheduled for May 15 in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion.