FIFA considering expanding 2030 World Cup to 64 countries

FIFA is considering a radical change to the format of the 2030 World Cup.

Soccer’s global governing body is reportedly considering a proposal that would expand the 2030 tournament from 48 to 64 countries, according to Tariq Panja of The New York Times.

2030 marks the 100th anniversary of the first-ever World Cup in 1930, and the proposed expansion would be a one-off change to celebrate 100 years of World Cup competition. The new format was suggested in a surprise proposal from Uruguay’s FIFA delegate towards the end of a recent meeting. Uruguay was the host nation for the first World Cup in 1930.

Per the Times, reaction to the proposal was “stunned silence.” However, “FIFA [is] likely to be guided by financial and political benefits as much as sporting ones when it came to taking a decision on the matter,” the report read.

The upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup held in North America will be the first of a newly expanded 48-team format. Even that change was met with its fair share of detractors, though more games and more teams has its obvious financial benefits.

Broadcast rights in the United States for the 2030 World Cup are still up in the air. Fox will broadcast the 2026 tournament, the last before its contract with FIFA expires. Netflix has recently secured rights to broadcast the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups.

No doubt, the added inventory of a 64-team competition would drive the price of rights up significantly, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino has not been shy about supporting proposals that would benefit the federation financially. Recently, a proposal supported by Infantino to play the World Cup every two years rather than every four years was met with fierce opposition.

One has to believe, if the 2030 edition of the World Cup does end up at 64 teams, it’d be difficult to put that genie back in the bottle and return to a 48-team format in 2034.