Published July 21, 2026
The first 48-team World Cup has only just finished, but coach Gianni Infantino has already acknowledged the possibility that soccer’s biggest tournament could one day become even bigger, potentially fundamentally changing the economics of the sport.
FIFA’s president said on Swiss television during the tournament that a 64-team World Cup was one of the ideas that could be considered after the finals, and that discussions had resumed about how big the tournament’s flagship event could realistically be.
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The logistical implications of further expansion are clear. Larger tournaments require more stadiums, more hotels, more transportation, and probably more time.
But the economic impact could be even more significant. By making qualifying easier for many gaming powers, a 64-team tournament could reduce the commercial value of qualifying competitions while increasing the importance of FIFA’s own flagship event.
If broadcasters place less value on qualifying campaigns, soccer’s six regional confederations could become more reliant on FIFA’s own distribution, potentially shifting more economic influence and power to the global governing body.
UEFA president Alexander Ceferin said last year: “I don’t think it’s a good idea for the World Cup itself. And it’s not a good idea for our qualification. So I don’t support the idea.” The European governing body’s position has remained unchanged since then.
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa also voiced opposition, questioning last year where further expansion would end.
“I think when you plan a World Cup, it’s important to have it for the whole world, not just Europe or South America,” Infantino said when discussing plans to expand the tournament. “If we don’t give small countries the opportunity to participate in the World Cup, they will lose the incentive to continue growing.”
The 2026 tournament, to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States, will break away from the 32-team format for the first time since 1998, with 48 participating countries and 104 games played over five weeks.
If the competition maintains the same basic structure of four-team groups followed by a 32-team knockout stage, the 64-team World Cup would consist of 128 matches, 24 more than in 2026 and double the total number of matches held under the old 32-team format.
Unless FIFA condenses the schedule or holds more matches at the same time, about another week could be added to a tournament that has already lasted more than five weeks.
Plans are in place for Spain, Portugal and Morocco to host the majority of the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay each hosting one of the opening matches to mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary. Accommodating 64 teams across six host countries poses a major organizational challenge. Doing this in a single country could prove even tougher.
Saudi Arabia plans to host the tournament on its own in 2034, but is already facing significant scheduling issues. Ramadan is expected to begin in mid-November that year, making it difficult to replicate the November-December period used for the 2022 World Cup in neighboring Qatar, potentially forcing an unprecedented reorganization of the world football calendar.
A 64-team tournament will magnify these challenges, requiring more stadiums, training facilities, hotels, transport capacity and volunteers, putting further pressure on the infrastructure of a country with a developing tourism industry.
Saudi Arabia is proposing eight stadiums in Riyadh, four in Jeddah, and 15 stadiums in Khobar, Neom, and Abha to add to the existing 48-team format. Construction and renovation work has already begun in preparation for the 2027 Asian Cup.
The expansion of the World Cup will put further strain on an already crowded international calendar, and will also increase pressure on domestic leagues, many of which align with Europe’s traditional August-to-May season.
Japan’s J.League is set to begin its first season between August and May, while Major League Soccer in the United States is planning a similar transition starting next year. A future Winter World Cup would therefore disrupt a growing number of competitions, rather than primarily the major European leagues, as will be the case in 2022.
The World Cup can be costly for national federations, even wealthy ones like France. The French Football Federation expects to spend 24.5 million euros (about $28 million) on this year’s World Cup, and federation president Philippe Diallo said Les Bleus would need to reach at least the semi-finals to avoid a loss.
Diallo said at the FIFA General Assembly in April in Vancouver that FIFA needs to provide greater financial support to participating countries.
If a 48-team tournament is already straining the finances of participating federations, a longer 64-team event could further increase that cost.
As the number of matches increases and the workload on elite athletes increases, concerns about player welfare will also increase.
The 64-team tournament would give more countries access to soccer’s biggest stage, but it could also reignite debate over competitive balance, tournament length, fan costs and whether the World Cup risks losing some of the exclusivity that has long made it so appealing.
Whether this idea progresses beyond discussion may depend in part on how the original 48-team World Cup is ultimately judged.
