FIFA have opened the door for an even bigger World Cup after the successes of the 48-team tournament this year.
In a conversation with Blue Sport, FIFA President Gianni Infantino indicated that the proposal could be put on the table after the current tournament.
According to the FIFA president, further expansion fits within the ambition to give more countries the chance to qualify for the world’s biggest football tournament. “The whole world should be able to dream of the World Cup.”
Infantino already sees a confirmation of that vision in the current tournament.
According to him, the expansion to 48 participants has not diminished the sporting value of the World Cup.
“The expansion is a huge success. You can see that the quality of the teams is generally extremely good and is getting better and better worldwide,” he said.
An expansion to 64 countries would cause the number of matches to rise sharply again. At the current World Cup, 104 matches are played, whereas in a tournament with 64 participants, there would be 128.
A concrete proposal is not on the table for the time being, but the idea has been circulating within the international football world for some time. In South America, too, it was previously suggested to further expand the field of participants.
The next World Cup will take place in 2030, with Spain, Portugal, and Morocco as the main venues.
