Fifa’s 64-team World Cup plan facing opposition from Uefa, Concacaf and Asia
Fifa’s plan to consider expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is facing major pushback, with Uefa and other confederations believed to be firmly opposed to the proposal.
The first edition of the tournament to feature 48 nations is yet to finish but Fifa president Gianni Infantino has revived the prospect of further expansion as soon as the next World Cup in 2030.
Uefa is likely to strongly resist the idea, however, with one source with knowledge of the conversations describing it as a “die in a ditch” issue for the European governing body.
Concacaf, which represents countries from North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the Asia Football Confederation, are also said to be against expanding the World Cup again.
Opposition from three of Fifa’s four biggest confederations might prove too great an obstacle for a plan originally floated by South America’s Conmebol but since talked up by Infantino.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” he told Swiss outlet Bluewin.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high – and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world.
“If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
World Cup expansion part of wider calendar negotiation
Fears that expanding from 32 to 48 teams would dent the quality of play have largely failed to materialise, helped by debutants Cape Verde reaching the second round.
But there is a feeling that adding more teams in 2030 would be too much, too soon and could greatly restrict the pool of hosts who could cope with staging such a vast competition.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has previously said he would oppose a 64-team World Cup. “I think it’s not a good idea for the World Cup itself, and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers as well,” he told The Guardian last year.
Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has said it is not “the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem”, while AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has said it could lead to “chaos”.
Expansion of the World Cup is likely to be one of the key talking points in discussions over a new global calendar for men’s football over the next two years.
The current calendar agreement runs until 2030 and Fifa has also floated further expanding the Club World Cup, the first 32-team edition of which only took place last year.
Under an agreement announced on the eve of this World Cup, Fifa has committed to consulting with global player union Fifpro on future changes to the calendar.
Fifpro has previously been critical of Fifa for increasing player workload through competition expansion but it is understood that it has not decided its position on a 64-team World Cup.