Context and Importance
The 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, was the first edition in history to feature 48 teams. The tournament is still fresh in fans' memory, but FIFA is already debating a new leap: a World Cup with 64 teams, possibly as soon as 2030.
The idea comes at a delicate time. The global football calendar is increasingly packed, with an expanded Champions League, a reformatted Club World Cup, and domestic leagues already complaining about overload. Adding even more international matches worries players, coaches and federations.
On the other hand, expansion means money. More matches mean more broadcasting rights, more sponsorships and more countries taking part in the celebration. For FIFA, that is billions in revenue. For fans, it is a chance to see their national team fight for a historic spot.
What Happened
According to a report by ESPN, published on September 27, 2026, the possibility of a 64-team World Cup in 2030 has gained renewed traction behind the scenes at FIFA. The 2030 edition already has a special format: it will be held across three continents, with matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, plus commemorative games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, honoring the centenary of the first World Cup, held in 1930.
This symbolic nature of 2030 is seen by some officials as the ideal moment for a new milestone: doubling the tournament's size compared to the pre-2026 era, when the World Cup had just 32 teams.
The 2026 World Cup was the first with 48 teams. A 64-team edition would represent a growth of more than 33% compared to the current format.
There is still no official FIFA confirmation of the change for 2030. What exists, according to the report, is an internal debate about feasibility, competition format, and reaction from stakeholders, including players and domestic leagues.
Impact on Clubs, National Teams and the Competition
A 64-team World Cup would completely change the tournament's logistics. It would require more stadiums, more host cities and, above all, more time. The 2026 edition already lasts around 39 days, well beyond the traditional 32 days of 32-team World Cups.
For smaller nations, the expansion is a unique opportunity. Countries that have never played in a World Cup, or that rarely qualify, would have more chances through expanded continental qualifiers.
For traditional powerhouses, however, the concern is diluted competitiveness. With more spots, the number of matches with a wide technical gap between opponents grows, something already criticized during the 48-team 2026 edition.
Reaction from the Football World
The reaction among players has been cautious. Player associations were already warning about excessive match schedules even before the expansion to 48 teams. A new increase to 64 teams tends to intensify that debate.
Coaches and officials from smaller confederations, on the other hand, tend to view the change favorably, since it broadens qualification chances for emerging teams in Asia, Africa, Concacaf and Oceania.
Fans and specialized media are also divided. Some celebrate the democratization of the biggest event in world football. Others fear the tournament could lose part of its historic prestige, associated with a contest among the world's best national teams.
The main point of resistance is the calendar. Players and leagues already complain about overload with the 48-team format just debuted in 2026.
Relevant History
The World Cup has grown gradually over nearly a century. The first edition, in 1930, had just 13 teams. The 16-team format lasted for decades, until the expansion to 24 teams in 1982.
In 1998, under Joao Havelange and later consolidated by Sepp Blatter, the tournament moved to 32 teams, a format that lasted until 2022 in Qatar. It was the longest-lasting era of fixed tournament size.
From 13 teams in 1930 to a possible 64 in 2030: the World Cup could be about to undergo its biggest transformation in nearly a century of history.
The move to 48 teams, approved under Gianni Infantino, was justified by FIFA as a way to give the tournament greater global representation. Expanding to 64 would follow the same logic, taken to a new level.
Numbers and Statistics
The numbers help illustrate the scale of the leap a 64-team World Cup would represent compared to previous editions in the tournament's history.
If confirmed, a 64-team World Cup would need considerably more matches than the 104 games scheduled for the 2026 edition, directly impacting the tournament's total length and domestic league calendars the following year.
The increase in spots would also directly affect continental qualifiers, which would need to be restructured to properly distribute the extra spots among UEFA, CONMEBOL, Concacaf, CAF, AFC and OFC.
What Comes Next
The next step is FIFA's official decision on the 2030 format. The organization still needs to balance commercial, logistical and sporting interests before announcing any formal change to the number of participants.
Regional confederations are expected to state their positions in the coming months, especially those that would be most benefited or harmed by redistributing spots under an expanded format.
Player associations are also expected to intensify dialogue with FIFA about match load, especially after criticism received during and after the 48-team 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Expert Opinion
The debate over a 64-team World Cup exposes an old dilemma in modern football: commercial growth versus competitive quality. FIFA has a recent history of prioritizing expansion, as shown by the recent move from 32 to 48 teams.
Expanding the World Cup to 64 teams could be a powerful marketing move, but elite football risks losing identity if every edition becomes synonymous with more matches and less technical balance between opponents.
The 2030 centenary is too symbolic to ignore. It would be no surprise if FIFA used this milestone as a showcase to announce the biggest World Cup ever held. What remains to be seen is whether football, as a sporting spectacle, comes out stronger or diluted from this process.
From 13 teams in 1930 to a possible 64 in 2030: the World Cup may be on the verge of its biggest transformation in nearly a century of history.
