Gianni Infantino revives the idea of a 64-team World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revived the idea of expanding the World Cup in the future to 64 teams, in comments that have sparked wide debate across the football world, especially since the current 2026 edition has already expanded to 48 nations for the first time in its history.

Infantino said the idea remains at an early discussion stage, noting that FIFA is studying various options to make the tournament "more inclusive" and give more countries the chance to take part in the world's biggest football event.

"The World Cup belongs to the whole world, and we must always think about how to give more nations and more people the chance to live this dream."

The proposal has, however, drawn criticism from several experts, players and coaches, who warned about the impact of further expansion on match quality and the added physical strain on players amid an already congested football calendar.

Infantino did not set any specific timeline for a possible implementation of the expansion, stressing that any such decision would require extensive discussion with continental confederations and clubs before being adopted.