Alejandro Dominguez, president of South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL, has formally proposed expanding the 2030 men’s FIFA World Cup to 64 teams, citing the tournament’s centenary as a unique opportunity for global inclusion.
Dominguez made the announcement during his opening address at CONMEBOL’s 80th Ordinary Congress, building on a proposal initially introduced last month by a Uruguayan delegate during a FIFA Council meeting chaired by President Gianni Infantino.
“We are convinced that the centennial celebration will be unique because 100 years are celebrated only once,” Dominguez said. “That is why we are proposing, for the first time, to hold this anniversary with 64 teams, on three continents simultaneously.”
The 2030 tournament is already set to be the most geographically diverse edition in World Cup history, with six co-hosts across three continents: Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Uruguay, which hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1930, is scheduled to stage the opening match.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar featured 32 teams. That number will rise to 48 in 2026, when the United States, Mexico and Canada host the tournament. A further expansion to 64 teams in 2030 would result in 128 matches, double the number contested in editions from 1998 to 2022.
The move would likely guarantee automatic qualification for all 10 CONMEBOL member nations, including Venezuela, which has never reached a World Cup.
“This will allow all countries to have the opportunity to live the world experience and so nobody on the planet is left out of the party,” Dominguez said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has backed larger tournaments during his tenure, arguing they increase revenue distribution and broaden global participation. However, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has criticised the proposal, calling a 64-team World Cup “a bad idea.”
Critics warn that such expansion could dilute the quality of competition and diminish the significance of regional qualifying campaigns.
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