FIFA may increase the number of World Cup participants to 64 teams

After the end of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA plans to consider increasing the number of participants in the final part of the tournament from 48 to 64 national teams, according to sources. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that after the end of the current World Cup. According to him, the world championship should be open to as many countries as possible, because it contributes to the development of football in different regions of the world. The head of FIFA also positively assessed the debut World Cup with the participation of 48 teams. In particular, he noted the successful performance of the representatives of Africa, most of whom were able to make it to the play-off stage. We will remind you that the decision to expand the final part of the World Cup from 32 to 48 national teams was adopted by the FIFA Council back in 2017. The idea of ​​increasing the tournament to 64 teams in 2025 was officially proposed by CONMEBOL, but it has not yet received approval. At the same time, the initiative has many opponents. UEFA president Alexander Ceferin, Asian Football Confederation chief Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani have previously spoken out against further expansion, believing it could have a negative impact on the level of the tournament and the selection system. According to the source, the final decision on a possible increase in the number of participants will be made by the FIFA Council.