Дэлхийн хөлбөмбөгийн удирдах байгууллага 2030 оны тэмцээнийг өргөжүүлэх асуудлаар холбогдох хороодын хүрээнд хэлэлцэхээр төлөвлөж байна.
ФИФА-гийн ерөнхийлөгч Жанни Инфантино 2030 оны дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээний багийн тоог 64-т хүргэх боломжийг авч үзнэ гэдгээ мэдэгдлээ. Тэрээр жижиг улс орнуудад оролцох боломж олгох нь тэдний хөгжилд түлхэц болно хэмээн үзэж, 48 багтай зохион байгуулсан энэ удаагийн тэмцээнийг амжилттай болсон гэж дүгнэв. 2030 оны тэмцээн нь Уругвай, Аргентин, Парагвай, Марокко, Португал, Испани гэсэн гурван тивийн зургаан улсад зохион байгуулагдах хуваарьтай байгаа юм.
Тус санаачилгыг анх 2025 оны гуравдугаар сард Уругвайн хөлбөмбөгийн албаны хүн Игнасио Алонсо гаргасан бөгөөд 2025 оны арваннэгдүгээр сард КОНМЕБОЛ-ын ерөнхийлөгч Алехандро Домингес үүнийг дэмжиж буйгаа илэрхийлсэн. Гэсэн хэдий ч УЕФА-гийн ерөнхийлөгч Александр Чеферин болон КОНКАКАФ-ын тэргүүн Виктор Монтальяни нар энэхүү өргөтгөлийг тэмцээний чанар болон бүс нутгийн сонгон шалгаруулалтад сөргөөр нөлөөлнө хэмээн эсэргүүцэж байна.
Инфантино АНУ-ын Ерөнхийлөгч Дональд Трамптай ойр ойрхон холбоотой байгаагаа дурдаж, түүнийг тэмцээний шигшээ тоглолтыг үзэж, ялагч багт цом гардуулах төлөвлөгөөтэй байгааг дахин нотоллоо. Хэрэв багийн тоог 64-т хүргэвэл 210 гишүүн орны дөрөвний нэгээс илүү нь тэмцээнд оролцох боломж бүрдэх юм.
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Gianni Infantino has said FIFA will examine expanding the World Cup by a further 16 nations to a 64-team tournament ahead of its next edition in 2030.
The competition was expanded to a 48-team format for the 2026 finals, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, an increase from the 32-nation version that ran from 1998 through to 2022.
The 2030 tournament will be spread across six nations and three continents: 1930 hosts Uruguay, 2022 winners Argentina and Paraguay — the base of the offices for CONMEBOL, South America’s football governing body — are scheduled to host one match apiece at the start of the competition, with the remaining games (101 for a 48-team tournament) split between Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
In September 2025, FIFA held discussions over expanding the tournament again for 2030 after receiving a formal pitch from a delegation of influential South American leaders.
Infantino, the president of world football’s governing body, confirmed talks would take place over the proposed format after this summer’s tournament.
“It (a 64-team tournament) is definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said in an interview with Swiss media outlet Bluewin. FIFA’s president reiterated that the tournament was “for the whole world, not just Europe and South America”.
Why has the World Cup expanded to 48 teams?
Matt Slater and Reuben Pinder
He continued: “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.”
The 56-year-old also said expanding the World Cup to 48 teams for this edition was “100 percent a success”. The expansion has faced criticism from participating nations, with Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz saying after the group stages that it has devalued the qualification process and turned the tournament into something “vulgar and ordinary.”
Infantino and FIFA had previously commissioned a feasibility study into holding the World Cup every two years, rather than four, before shelving the proposed alteration.
Infantino added that he was in contact with U.S. President Donald Trump “almost every day”, claiming he was “very happy and enjoying the tournament” and watching almost every game on TV despite not yet attending a match in person.
The FIFA president confirmed in June that Trump will attend the World Cup final and present the trophy to the winning team, and he reiterated that plan.
Who supports a 64-team World Cup?
The idea was first proposed by Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso at a FIFA Council meeting in March 2025. FIFA, world football’s governing body, said in a statement toThe New York Timesthat the proposal from Alonso was “spontaneously raised” during the “any other business” section near the end of the meeting.
Then, in November 2025, Alejandro Dominguez — the president of CONMEBOL and a FIFA vice-president — described a 64-team tournament in 2030 as his “dream”. He claimed such an expansion would “unite the world, just once”.
By hosting matches at the 2030 tournament, South America will be locked out from hosting duties until at least 2042 asFIFA’s hosting stipulations dictate that a continent can only stage the World Cup once every three editions.
This means that South America would be the primary host for just one World Cup in a 64-year period, the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
An expanded tournament could mean that Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay could host a full group each, rather than just a match.
Who opposes further expansion?
A 64-team tournament would see more than a quarter of FIFA’s 210 men’s international sides compete and would risk rendering many regional qualification processes meaningless.
UEFA president Ceferin spoke against the idea of a 64-team World Cup at his association’s congress in April (PREDRAG MILOSAVLJEVIC/AFP via Getty Images)
Six of the 10 CONMEBOL nations already qualify automatically for a 48-team finals, with an additional play-off qualification spot.
In April, UEFA presidentAleksander Ceferin dismissed the proposal as a “bad idea”, saying it would damage both the tournament itself and Europe’s qualifying competition. His North American counterpart, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, holds a similar view, saying it was “not a great idea.”
