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.

Axar.az reports, citing the New York Times, 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”.