Coach Gianni Infantino has already expanded the World Cup once and FIFA is considering expanding it again (Image: Getty)
Gianni Infantino said FIFA will definitely discuss expanding the World Cup to 64 teams in a major update ahead of this year’s semi-finals. The company’s controversial president believes the 48-page first edition was a huge success.
Early editions featured 13 to 16 teams, which eventually grew to 24 teams in 1982. Sixteen years later, the number of teams participating in the World Cup has increased to 32 teams. That number remained the same for almost 30 years until this summer’s competition.
However, the size of the World Cup could double from the 2022 tournament to the 2030 tournament. The 2026 World Cup has been narrowed down to just four teams, with France playing Spain on Tuesday before England facing Argentina on Wednesday.
Asked whether expanding the World Cup was the right decision, the FIFA president told Swiss publication Brewin: “Yes, 100 percent! It was a great success with 48 teams participating.”
“Every team played at a high level. Every team from every continent scored a goal and scored at least one point.
“Nine out of 10 African teams made it to the finals. In the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. This shows how important it is to include all teams, to give them the opportunity to participate.
Infantino also talked about increasing the number to 64 teams. “It is definitely an issue that will be considered and discussed by the relevant committees after this World Cup,” he said.
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Gianni Infantino will oversee a World Cup that will double in size during his tenure if it expands to 64 players. (Image: Getty)
“When we organize a World Cup, it is important to organize a World Cup for virtually the whole world, not just Europe or South America. Every country should be allowed to have the dream of participating in the World Cup.”
“You can see that the quality of the teams is very high, and the level is getting higher and higher all over the world. If you don’t give small countries the chance to participate in the World Cup, they lack the incentive to continue to grow.”
Mr. Infantino has been pushing for business expansion since taking office. He also oversaw similar changes to the European Championship as UEFA Secretary General.
The tournament featured 16 teams over 20 years, until the 2016 competition increased that number to 24 teams. Initially there were only four teams, which doubled to eight teams in 1980, and again to 16 teams in 1996.
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Soccer fans are divided on the latest talk of expansion into the World Cup. One of the X users asked, “Why does it stop at 64?”
“Just invite all 211 FIFA member countries. Let’s have a nine-month World Cup in 45 countries. Think about the broadcast revenue! Who cares if the players’ legs are literally broken in half by December, as long as the FIFA executives get yacht money? The games are gone.”
Another said: “The World Cup should be 32 teams. Eight groups of four, something at stake in every game, no dead rubbers, no group of three shenanigans, quality over quantity. 48 teams is already impossible. 64 teams would turn the greatest tournament on earth into a marathon of mismatches.”
But on the contrary, another said: “64 games are likely to be played in the same time frame, zero games added to the number of games for each team, and there is clearly no lack of quality for teams in this tournament, 33 wins and 48 losses. Oh, and the format is cleaner. 64 games is a win for everyone, whether they know it or not.”
