Fifa accelerates plan to expand World Cup to 64 teams from 2030

Fifa is rapidly advancing a plan to expand the World Cup to 64 teams starting with the 2030 tournament, issuing a tender for an economic assessment that must be delivered by September 11, 2026, a timeline that signals a decision could be taken in 2026.

Under the brief, seen by the Guardian, the successful contractor will be selected on August 14, 2026, and given just four weeks to complete the study. Proposals are due by August 7, 2026.

The accelerated push comes days after disclosures in late July 2026 that Fifa president Gianni Infantino planned to sell parts of the World Cup to private investors, a scheme that prompted Uefa to threaten a tournament boycott. Member associations were not informed about the tender before it was issued, raising further governance concerns.

Specifically, the research must assess the impact on tournament revenue and the wider football ecosystem, as well as stakeholder support or resistance, player welfare, product quality and the international calendar. It explicitly requests estimates of ticketing, sponsorship and media-rights revenues under a 64-team format.

Infantino said in early July 2026 that an expansion would be discussed after the 2026 World Cup. Alejandro Domínguez, president of South American governing body Conmebol, renewed the proposal after the 2026 tournament ended.

The 2030 World Cup is to be co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with individual games in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark the centenary. An expanded tournament could allow each of those South American countries to host at least a full group.

Uefa and Concacaf have opposed further expansion, and Fifa’s move may stiffen that resistance. If confirmed, a 64-team format would mean a short life for the 48-team edition that debuted in 2026; from 1998 to 2022, the tournament featured 32 sides. The compressed timeline for assessing such a significant change is likely to draw criticism, along with questions about future host suitability.