64-Team FIFA World Cup: Infantino Said to Back Major Expansion

FIFA Eyes Another World Cup Expansion

The FIFA World Cup could be heading for yet another dramatic expansion. According to a report from Forbes, FIFA president Gianni Infantino is backing a plan to grow the tournament to 64 teams, which would represent a significant jump from the 48-team format already set to debut at the 2026 edition in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

If accurate, the reported push marks another chapter in Infantino's ongoing effort to broaden the tournament's global reach. The 48-team World Cup was itself a major shift from the 32-team format that had been the standard since 1998, and Infantino championed that change during his early tenure at FIFA's helm.

The Forbes report does not specify a target year for a potential 64-team tournament, but the discussion signals that internal conversations at FIFA may already be looking well beyond 2026.

What a 64-Team Format Would Mean

A 64-team World Cup would bring a substantial increase in the number of matches played. The current 32-team format produced 64 matches per tournament. Moving to 48 teams pushes that number to 104 games under the planned 2026 structure. A jump to 64 teams would push the total even higher, raising questions about scheduling, host infrastructure, and player welfare.

Critics of the 48-team expansion have already raised concerns about player fatigue, fixture congestion, and the potential for mismatched group-stage games. A further expansion would likely intensify those debates, particularly among club competitions and players' unions who have pushed back on the growing international calendar.

On the other side, supporters of a larger tournament point to the commercial upside. More matches mean more broadcasting slots, more sponsorship inventory, and the ability to bring in national teams from regions that have historically had limited World Cup access, including parts of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Infantino's Record on Expansion

Infantino has consistently positioned himself as an advocate for making FIFA competitions more inclusive. Under his leadership, the Club World Cup was also expanded, growing into a 32-team tournament set to launch in 2025. The World Cup expansion from 32 to 48 teams was approved back in 2017, and the 2026 tournament will serve as its first real test.

His reported interest in a 64-team World Cup fits a clear pattern, but any formal proposal would need approval from FIFA's membership and would have to clear significant logistical hurdles. Hosting a 64-team tournament would require more stadiums, longer hosting windows, and either a single host nation with enormous capacity or a large multi-nation hosting arrangement.

No official FIFA vote or formal proposal has been reported at this stage. The Forbes report frames Infantino's stance as backing rather than a concrete plan already in motion.

Reaction and What Comes Next

The football world's response to a potential 64-team format will likely be divided along familiar lines. National federations from smaller footballing nations tend to welcome expansion, as it opens doors for teams that rarely qualify under tighter formats. European clubs and leagues, already wrestling with a packed calendar, are expected to push back hard.

The 2026 World Cup will generate a large amount of data on how the 48-team model performs, in terms of match quality, audience figures, and operational delivery. FIFA leadership will almost certainly use those results to build a case for or against going further.

For now, the 64-team World Cup remains at the level of reported internal discussion. But given Infantino's track record, dismissing the idea outright would be premature.