The first ever 48-team World Cup is over - but already, Fifa president Gianni Infantino is looking ahead and hinting at further expansion.
Infantino has opened the door to expanding the tournament to 64 teams after ruling this year's **** per edition as a resounding success, with Fifa vice-president Alejandro Dominguez among those in favour - and calling for it to happen as early as the 2030 edition.
Infantino successfully pushed for the growth of the World Cup to 48 teams when it was approved by the Fifa Council in 2017 but is likely to encounter greater resistance in his quest to go even bigger, with Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin among those to think the suggestion is a "bad idea".
Fifa President Gianni Infantino at the 2026 World Cup (Getty)
Furthermore, the potential expansion now feels in some way tied to Infantino's scheme of trying to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, a plan that has drawn major criticism – even leading Uefa to threaten a boycott of the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments. If European nations were to be absent from a 64-team World Cup, not only would the quality suffer, but it would be more difficult to find nations to fill every slot.
#World #fifa #gianni #uefa
Infantino has opened the door to expanding the tournament to 64 teams after ruling this year's **** per edition as a resounding success, with Fifa vice-president Alejandro Dominguez among those in favour - and calling for it to happen as early as the 2030 edition.
Infantino successfully pushed for the growth of the World Cup to 48 teams when it was approved by the Fifa Council in 2017 but is likely to encounter greater resistance in his quest to go even bigger, with Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin among those to think the suggestion is a "bad idea".
Fifa President Gianni Infantino at the 2026 World Cup (Getty)
Furthermore, the potential expansion now feels in some way tied to Infantino's scheme of trying to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, a plan that has drawn major criticism – even leading Uefa to threaten a boycott of the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments. If European nations were to be absent from a 64-team World Cup, not only would the quality suffer, but it would be more difficult to find nations to fill every slot.
#World #fifa #gianni #uefa
3 months ago
