Does size matter? Pros and cons of a 64-team World Cup

Gianni Infantino is thinking bigger once again.

Shortly before the end of the first World Cup with 48 teams and 104 matches, the president of football's world governing body FIFA has opened the door to a possible next expansion to 64 teams and 128 matches, which would be double the amount of teams and matches compared to 2022.

Critics of the proposal originally submitted by the South American confederation CONMEBOL in 2025 were quick to speak out. But there are also some positive aspects.

The Pros

More inclusion: The core argument is identical to that of the 48-team World Cup. Another expansion would enable truly global participation. Oceania could receive two places instead of one, Africa 13 instead of 9 and Asia 12 instead of 8. It may also help Italy back onto the world stage after missing out three times in a row.

"If you don't give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they'll lack the incentive to keep improving," Infantino has said.

Africa's success at the current World Cup somewhat supports his point as nine of the 10 participating teams reached the knockout stage, almost twice as the five from the previous record.

More football fairy tales: Looking at the current World Cup, the feared drop in quality has not been as noticeable as many had feared.

There were outliers like Curaçao's 7-1 defeat to Germany, but also football fairy tales such as Cape Verde advancing. Even a match like DR Congo v Uzbekistan ultimately provided excellent entertainment with spectacular goals.

Less strain? A World Cup with 64 teams would mean 128 matches. That would be 24 additional games, but it could also reduce the workload elsewhere. More direct entry spots could allow confederations to reduce the number of qualifying matches, thereby creating a counterbalance to the argument about player overload.

No more complicated calculations: An expansion to 64 teams would solve one major shortcoming of the current World Cup.

Since eight of the twelve best third-placed teams advanced, matches like Australia v Paraguay became exactly what many had feared. Both teams only needed a draw on the final matchday to progress, and they certainly didn't overexert themselves in the 0–0 draw.

A 64-team tournament would see only the top two from each group advance and eliminate complicated qualification scenarios. Teams may also learn their opponents earlier, giving them more time to prepare.

More money? The simple logic of revenue. More matches mean more television exposure, which should in turn increase income — not only through TV rights, but also through other commercial revenues.

The Cons

Scheduling madness: Expanding to 64 teams would result in a gigantic group-stage schedule of 96 games, up from 72 this time. The 2030 World Cup will mainly take place in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, but to mark the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, matches will also be held in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.

Since the tournament is not supposed to be extended beyond five weeks, this could mean at least five to six group-stage matches per day. Giving every match its own time slot would be an extremely difficult task.

Qualification chaos: The number of participants would double within eight years. Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian confederation, said: "Where would we end up then? It would become chaos."

Former Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz noted that qualification must retain the "feeling of a genuine achievement." There is also the risk that qualifying matches would become less marketable, as much of their suspense would be lost.

Host nation challenges: Infrastructure would become a major issue. Hosting 128 matches would probably require 20 to 22 stadiums. By comparison, the current tournament used 16 stadiums and it was already spread across three countries. In the future, it would be nearly impossible for one country to host a World Cup on its own.

Moreover, planning for the next World Cup is based on a 48-team format. With fewer than four years before the opening match, those plans would have to be fundamentally revised if the tournament were expanded.

Financial concerns: According to media reports, there is no evidence at the moment that adding 16 more teams would generate significant financial growth.

The additional infrastructure costs have also not yet been calculated. There are reportedly concerns that such an expansion would actually damage the World Cup too much.