# FIFA fast-tracks decision on 64-team World Cup for 2030

Fifa is working to bring forward a decision on whether the 2030 World Cup will be expanded to 64 teams, with an official announcement potentially due on 14 August, according to Sky News.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has previously suggested staging the tournament with 64 nations, with the competition set to be hosted across six countries as part of celebrations marking the centenary of the first World Cup.

The proposal is now being considered more urgently by Fifa, Sky News reported, although no final decision has yet been announced.

Infantino has said the plan will be discussed by the relevant Fifa committees after the next World Cup. He argued that expanding the tournament would give more countries the chance to qualify and help develop football globally.

“Of course the idea of a World Cup with 64 teams will be discussed in the relevant committees after this tournament,” Infantino previously told Swiss website Bluewin.

He added: “The World Cup is a tournament for the whole world, not just Europe and South America. Every country should have the chance to dream of participating.”

Infantino also said: “The level of national teams is constantly improving around the world, and if smaller countries are not given an opportunity, they will not have the motivation to improve.”

The Fifa president described the move from 32 to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup as “100% successful”.

The 2026 tournament is being staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with 48 teams involved. That represents the first expansion from the 32-team format used at every World Cup between 1998 and 2022.

The 2030 World Cup is already scheduled to take place across three continents. Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host the opening matches, while the remaining fixtures will be played in Morocco, Portugal and Spain.

The tournament’s multi-country format is part of plans to mark 100 years since the inaugural World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930.

The idea of increasing the field to 64 teams was formally raised by South American officials before Infantino’s comments. Ignacio Alonso presented the proposal during a Fifa Council meeting in March 2025.

Fifa’s latest discussions come before the governing body is expected to consider the matter through its specialist committees. The proposed expansion would create further opportunities for nations that have traditionally struggled to reach the World Cup, but the article provides no details on how the competition format would change or how many matches would be played.