Gianni Infantino’s 64-team World Cup plan met with European leagues’ strongest opposition yet

The European Leagues association has rejected Gianni Infantino’s proposal to expand the World Cup to 64 teams, warning that FIFA must no longer be allowed to make major decisions unilaterally.

The organisation’s statement, issued on Wednesday and reported by RMC, marks the latest escalation in the dispute between European football bodies and FIFA over the direction of the international game.

European Leagues said Infantino’s proposal conflicted with the interests of domestic leagues, clubs, players and supporters, which it described as the foundations of the value generated by international competitions.

“FIFA should no longer be allowed to take unilateral decisions of this scale,” the association said.

It argued that the 64-team World Cup plan reflected the same approach used by FIFA in its attempt to create a commercial company to manage the commercial and operational rights of its competitions. That project was recently abandoned following widespread opposition.

According to European Leagues, FIFA gave the relevant parties no more than four weeks to assess the commercial project and did not conduct meaningful consultations with leagues, clubs or players, despite those groups being among the most affected by any such decision.

The association also suggested it could take further action. It said its members may boycott any new FIFA competitions or future tournament expansions unless the governing body carries out fundamental reforms, particularly in relation to governance and the way decisions are made.

The latest disagreement comes as pressure continues to build on Infantino following the collapse of his plan to sell a stake in FIFA’s commercial competition rights to private-sector investors.

European Leagues submitted a complaint to the European Commission two years ago, alleging a conflict of interest within FIFA because it acts both as the regulator of competitions and as their commercial operator.

Former Portugal international Luis Figo has also joined the criticism of Infantino. In a message posted on X, Figo called for the FIFA president to resign and described his conduct as “low”, “deceitful” and “cowardly”.

A separate report referenced in the discussion claimed that Infantino had offered Morocco the chance to host a World Cup final in exchange for one service, although no further details of the alleged arrangement were provided.

The dispute follows FIFA’s decision to increase the number of teams at the 2026 World Cup to 48. That expansion was approved despite concerns over the demands placed on players and the international calendar.

The proposed move to 64 teams appears to be facing stronger resistance. Any new format would represent another significant change to the World Cup only two years after the 2026 tournament, which will be the first edition featuring 48 nations.

Infantino is seeking to strengthen his position ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for 2027. The opposition from European Leagues adds to the challenges facing him as he attempts to secure support for further changes to FIFA’s competitions and commercial structure.