Context and Importance
FIFA has taken another step toward one of the most radical changes in the history of world football. According to documents seen by ESPN, the governing body has begun a formal consultation process on expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams.
The idea is not new, but it has gained momentum at the exact moment the tournament just underwent its most recent major expansion, the jump from 32 to 48 teams debuting in 2026 across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Expanding even further before the current format has even been tested on the field is a decision that weighs on the entire football ecosystem.
The urgency lies in the timeline. According to the documents, FIFA aims to reach a decision by August 14, a tight deadline that suggests institutional haste to lock in the project before any coordinated opposition can form.
The 64-team proposal emerges before the 48-team World Cup has even been played, amplifying criticism of rushed planning.
What Happened
According to ESPN's report, FIFA distributed internal documents to national federations launching a consultation on expanding the World Cup. The text treats expansion as a concrete scenario, not merely backroom speculation.
The organization's president, Gianni Infantino, had already publicly signaled interest in exploring larger formats for the tournament, arguing that more countries deserve a chance to compete in a World Cup. That rhetoric is now moving into a formal deliberation phase.
The timeline revealed in the documents is the most concrete detail só far: a resolution on the tournament's size is expected as soon as August, forcing federations, confederations and players to quickly take a position on a matter of enormous impact.
Impact on Clubs, National Teams and the Competition
A 64-team World Cup would completely change the logistics of international football. More slots mean more qualifiers, more knockout matches and, potentially, more smaller countries gaining access to the sport's biggest stage.
On the other hand, adding more participants also dilutes the average competitiveness of group-stage matches, a concern already raised by coaches and officials when the World Cup moved from 32 to 48 teams. A further expansion would deepen that debate.
For continental confederations like CONMEBOL and UEFA, the change would mean completely renegotiating the number of slots per continent, something that historically triggers internal political disputes within federations.
Reaction from the Football World
The news drew immediate pushback from entities tied to professional football. Player associations had already been publicly criticizing calendar overload, and an even bigger World Cup is likely to intensify that clash.
Traditional federations are also expected to question the speed of the process. The idea of deciding the tournament's future format in a matter of weeks, without broad and transparent debate, is seen by critics as a symptom of the centralizing management style that has marked the Infantino era at FIFA.
On the other side, federations from countries with a history of struggling to qualify for World Cups are expected to support the expansion, since it increases their chances of taking part in football's most important tournament.
A 64-team World Cup would rewrite the rules of the game before the current 48-team format has even been played for the first time.
Relevant History
The World Cup has grown steadily since its creation in 1930, when it featured 13 teams. Over the decades, the tournament went through gradual expansions: 16 teams from 1934, 24 from 1982 and 32 since 1998.
The most recent and boldest change só far was approved for the 2026 World Cup, which will bring together 48 teams across the United States, Mexico and Canada, a format that has not even officially debuted yet.
This history shows that FIFA has, over decades, treated World Cup expansion as a tool for commercial growth and geographic inclusion, but never at the accelerated pace now being outlined.
From 13 teams debuting in 1930 to the 48 teams of 2026, the World Cup has never grown as fast as the new 64-team plan proposes.
Numbers and Statistics
The numbers help gauge the scale of the proposed change. If approved, the 64-team World Cup would represent a 33% jump from the 48-team format debuting in 2026.
The decision timeline is also notable: the documents point to August 14 as the deadline for a resolution, a short window for such an institutionally complex topic.
Compared to the original 1930 format, the current proposal would represent nearly a fivefold growth in the number of participating teams over the tournament's history.
What Comes Next
In the coming weeks, national federations and continental confederations are expected to formally take a position on the proposal presented by FIFA. The consultation process is likely to include meetings with officials and possibly player representatives.
The August 14 date serves as the central marker: it is by then that the organization hopes to settle a position on the World Cup's future format, which could mean either approval or an indefinite postponement of the idea.
Meanwhile, the 2026 World Cup remains the next confirmed major chapter in world football, and any decision on future expansion would likely only take practical effect starting with the edition after that.
Expert Opinion
Expanding the World Cup to 64 teams before even testing the 48-team format seems, at best, premature. Football is already experiencing calendar saturation, and yet another expansion only adds pressure on players and clubs.
There is a legitimate argument behind including more countries in the sport's biggest tournament, but it cannot ignore the competitive and physical cost involved. A World Cup that grows too large risks losing the very intensity that makes it special.
The rush to decide by August reveals more about FIFA's commercial logic than any genuine interest in listening to grassroots football. Expanding for the sake of expanding is a dangerous path.
Brazilian fans, historically tied to the World Cup's competitiveness, should follow this debate closely. Any change to the tournament's format directly affects the Brazilian national team's path in upcoming qualifiers.
