'Every Nation Should Be Allowed To Dream': FIFA To Discuss Expansion Of World Cup To 64 Teams

Last Updated:July 13, 2026, 10:06 IST

FIFA President Gianni Infantino claims that the expanded format has delivered positive results, pointing to the competitiveness of the tournament.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino says football’s global governing bodu will consider whether to expand the men’s World Cup to 64 teams after the current tournament concludes. The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, is the first edition to feature 48 teams.

“These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup," Infantino, who was instrumental in increasing the tournament from 32 to 48 teams, told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport.

However, he hasn’t provide any further details.

“I think it is important that when you want to organise a World Cup, you do it for the whole world – not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world," he said. “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."

Although the expanded format faced criticism when it was introduced, those concerns have largely faded since the tournament began on June 11.

Infantino claims that the expanded format has delivered positive results, pointing to the competitiveness of the tournament.

“Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point. Nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout stage. At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams, to give them this opportunity to participate," he said

The World Cup previously expanded from 24 to 32 teams in 1998.

The 2030 edition will be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, while Saudi Arabia is set to stage the 2034 tournament.

Infantino has also addressed criticism over the use of hydration breaks during each half.

The stoppages have been viewed by some as a way to create extra advertising opportunities for television broadcasters.

“This is a topic that sparks a lot of debate. After all, we don’t want to get everything perfect; we like to give everyone something to disagree with… no, joking aside. Last year, during the Club World Cup in the USA, there were cooling breaks whenever it was very hot," he said.

“These short breaks occurred in about 60% of the matches but not in the other 40% because the temperature wasn’t as high. There were many complaints, as the feeling was that all teams should face the same conditions," he added.

Astronomical ticket pricing has been one of the major talking points throughout the tournament but Infantino has defended it citing strong attendance figures.

“The stadiums are full; capacity utilisation is at 99.7% and it will likely reach 99.9% by the end. Experts determined the ticket prices before the tournament. Our experts worked on that and told us: ‘These are the prices you can go with’. We see the proof now: prices that some people claimed were too high are being resold on the secondary market, which is perfectly legal here, for four or five times the original cost," he said.

Infantino says FIFA is expecting the 39-day tournament to generate between 13 billion and 14 billion Swiss francs ($16.08 billion to $17.32 billion) in revenue.

“That is quite satisfactory," he said.

With Reuters Inputs

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Feroz Khan

Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience ...Read More

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