Fifa president Gianni Infantino has signalled openness to expanding the World Cup to 64 teams, an idea originally floated by Conmebol, South America's football confederation, for the 2030 centenary tournament. The proposal has drawn little support from other confederations, with Uefa's Aleksander Ceferin calling it a "bad idea" and officials from Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation warning it could damage the sport's ecosystem or bring "chaos", though the final decision rests with Fifa's 37-member council.

The push follows Conmebol's April 2025 request for a one-off 64-team format tied to the 2030 tournament, which will be primarily hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with centenary matches also played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. Supporters argue a 64-team, 16-group format would be more logistically natural and would give emerging nations more chances, citing Cape Verde's surprise run to the last 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Critics counter that several of this year's expanded-entry nations, including Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Panama, Tunisia and Uzbekistan, failed to win a point, suggesting further expansion could dilute competitiveness.