The 64-Team World Cup: A Proposal Heard in New York, Rejected in Zurich

A proposal for a 64-team World Cup was formally heard by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in New York, but the idea is being met with a firm rejection from the organization’s power base in Zurich. South American football leaders pushed their ambitious plan for the 2030 centenary event, only to find it clashes with a deep-seated belief within FIFA that such an expansion would be a mistake.
The meeting at Trump Tower included the presidents of Uruguay and Paraguay, who, along with Argentina, are set to host the opening matches of the 2030 tournament. They argued that a 64-team format would be a grand gesture for the anniversary and would be a boon for global football development, particularly for their 10-member confederation, Conmebol.
But the sentiment from within FIFA’s headquarters is one of strong opposition. Sources have confirmed that the plan lacks the support to pass the FIFA Council. The council’s members, particularly those outside of South America, are concerned that the move would harm the World Cup’s prestige, business model, and competitive integrity by flooding the tournament with mismatches.
This internal resistance has been reinforced by public statements from influential figures like UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani. Both have dismissed the proposal, signaling that there is no appetite for such a radical change among the sport’s most powerful confederations.
As FIFA focuses on the logistics of the 48-team tournament in 2026 and the complex six-nation format for 2030, the 64-team idea has been effectively sidelined. It is not on the agenda for the upcoming FIFA Council meeting, meaning the dream of a mega-tournament will not become a reality anytime soon.