What Infantino actually said
Infantino addressed the possibility during an interview with Blue Sport while discussing the first 48-team World Cup.
Asked about expanding the competition again, he said the issue would be examined and discussed within FIFA after the tournament.
His case for a larger World Cup is built around access. Infantino argued that the competition should represent football beyond its traditional powers in Europe and South America.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.”
Infantino also pointed to the growing competitiveness of national teams across different confederations. In his view, giving more countries a realistic path to the World Cup can create an incentive to invest in coaching, facilities, youth development and domestic football.
It is an argument FIFA has used throughout the move from 32 to 48 teams: more places create more opportunities for countries that have historically remained outside the tournament.
Nothing has been approved
The distinction between discussion and approval matters.
Infantino did not announce a 64-team World Cup. He did not confirm that the change would happen in 2030, 2034 or any other edition. He also did not reveal how a larger tournament would work.
At this stage, the idea remains under discussion.
Any formal expansion would require FIFA to settle several major questions:
- How many qualification places would each confederation receive? - Would the tournament continue using groups of four? - How many matches would be added? - Could existing host plans support the additional teams? - Would the competition need to run for longer? - How would FIFA manage the extra travel and player workload?
Until those details are developed and approved, the 64-team World Cup remains a possibility rather than a confirmed plan.
The World Cup is already bigger than ever
The 2026 edition is the first men’s World Cup to feature 48 national teams, an increase from the 32-team format used between 1998 and 2022.
The teams are divided into 12 groups of four. The top two countries from each group advance alongside the eight strongest third-place teams, creating a new Round of 32.
That structure produces 104 matches, compared with 64 at the previous seven tournaments.
You can read the complete breakdown in ForfeitMedia’s guide to why the 2026 World Cup is the biggest tournament ever.
The change has already transformed the scale of the event. More countries are involved, more fanbases have a team to follow and the eventual finalists must navigate an additional knockout round.
It has also increased the organisational demands placed on host cities, broadcasters, teams and players.
Why 64 teams is being considered
A 64-team World Cup would add another 16 qualification places, giving more countries access to football’s largest global stage.
For developing football nations, qualification can bring more than a short tournament appearance. It can create new sponsorship interest, greater federation revenue, improved infrastructure and a generation of supporters who see their country compete at the highest level.
A larger format could also produce a cleaner numerical structure. Sixty-four teams can be divided into 16 groups of four before moving into a 32-team knockout stage.
FIFA has not announced that as its preferred system, but it shows why 64 is a more practical expansion number than many alternatives.
There is also an obvious commercial side. More teams would mean more matches, more broadcast inventory, more participating markets and more global interest.
That potential growth is one reason the idea is unlikely to disappear quickly.
The proposal is already controversial
Supporters see expansion as a way to make the World Cup more representative.
Critics see the risk of a tournament becoming too large.
Adding more countries could reduce the difficulty and value of qualification. It could also create more uneven group-stage matches if the expansion moves faster than the development of international football.
The workload is another concern. The football calendar is already crowded, and an even larger World Cup could place additional pressure on players who arrive immediately after demanding club seasons.
Travel, heat and recovery have already become major themes during the 2026 tournament. The discussion around FIFA’s mandatory World Cup hydration breaks shows how closely supporters are watching changes that affect the rhythm and physical demands of matches.
Another expansion would need to prove that sporting quality and player welfare are not being sacrificed for reach and revenue.
This is not the first 64-team proposal
The idea was already placed before FIFA as a possible one-off expansion for the 2030 centenary World Cup.
That proposal generated immediate disagreement inside international football. Some officials supported creating a celebration involving more of FIFA’s member associations. Others argued that discussing 64 teams before the new 48-team system had been properly tested was premature.
Infantino’s latest comments move the subject forward without settling that argument.
The important change is that FIFA’s president has now publicly confirmed that the organisation intends to examine the issue after 2026.
What happens next
FIFA’s committees would first need to study the sporting, financial and logistical impact of moving to 64 teams.
A serious proposal would then require agreement on the tournament format, qualification allocations, host requirements and international calendar.
Confederations, national associations, leagues, clubs, broadcasters and player representatives would all have an interest in the outcome.
That process could take time. FIFA may decide that the new 48-team system should remain in place for several editions before another change is considered.
It could also decide that the increased global access and commercial potential justify moving sooner.
For continuing tournament coverage, fixtures and major developments, visit the ForfeitMedia World Cup 2026 hub.
Bottom line
A 64-team World Cup is now a genuine subject of discussion inside FIFA, but it is not an approved competition.
Infantino wants the organisation to examine the idea after the 2026 tournament and believes more countries should be able to dream of reaching the World Cup.
The debate will come down to a simple question with a complicated answer: would 64 teams make the World Cup more global, or would it make football’s biggest event too big?
