The World Cup trophy on a grey background
Argentina are the World Cup holders after lifting the trophy for a third time in Qatar in 2022(Image credit: Alamy)

Next years World Cup is going to be the biggest-ever, with FIFA increasing the size of the tournament from 32 teams to 48.

Its fair to say that expansion hasnt been met with universal enthusiasm, with concerns that quality and entertainment will be diluted.

But the growth of footballs ultimate stage might not stop in 2026, if one of the games governing bodies get their way.

HOW many teams at the 2030 World Cup?!

After next years World Cup co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada, the finals return to Europe and Africa and South America.

Yep, while principally being held in Morocco, Portugal and Spain, the 2030 World Cup will also feature three opening games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, to celebrate the centennial edition of the tournament. But will it be another 48-country affair?

Actually, the 2030 World Cup could be a 64-team tournament thats what South American governing body CONMEBOL want, anyway.

CONMEBOL, who are headquartered in Luque, Paraguay hence the countrys inclusion as a co-host (Uruguay hosted the inaugural World Cup, beating Argentina in the final) have made an official proposal to double the size of the World Cup from what it was up until 2022.

This will allow all countries to have the opportunity to live the world experience and so nobody on the planet is left out of the party, said COMMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez.

The suggestion has already been shot down by UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin, who made his feelings clear earlier this month, before it became official, by calling it a bad idea.

A 64-team World Cup, then how about it? Once, it would have seemed inconceivable that wed have a 48-team World Cup, but we know better than to put anything past FIFA.

We can see one flaw already, though: Dominguez claims that nobody on the planet will be left out. Does someone want to tell him that there are 211 national teams who are members of FIFA?

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...


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Disclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by TakeSporty.
Publisher: FourFourTwo

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