FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that governing body is actively considering a proposal to expand the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams — a move that would allow nearly one-third of all FIFA member nations to compete on football's biggest stage.

The proposal, championed by prominent South American football officials, is being evaluated ahead of the 2030 centenary edition — a tournament already scheduled across six nations on three continents.

Building on 2026's landmark expansion

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino said discussions would begin in earnest once the current tournament concludes. "These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup," he said.

He framed the potential expansion as part of a broader commitment to global inclusion. "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," Infantino told Blue Sport.

"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," he added.

African nations shine at FIFA World Cup 2026

Infantino pointed to the performances of African nations at FIFA World Cup 2026 as a compelling argument for further expansion. Nine of the ten African teams at the tournament advanced to the knockout stage — a remarkable leap from the five African sides that competed at the previous edition.

"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," Infantino said.

The World Cup operated with 32 teams from 1998 through 2022 before the historic jump to 48 for the current 2026 edition — hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — which FIFA has described as a 100 per cent success. The expanded tournament features 104 matches and has drawn strong attendance figures throughout.

A 64-team format would represent an even more dramatic transformation of the tournament structure, reshaping qualification processes across all confederations and significantly increasing the number of matches played.