Football stakeholders are sharply divided over the recent 64-team projection by FIFA.
The first 48-team World Cup has barely finished, but Gianni Infantino has already acknowledged the possibility that soccer’s biggest tournament could one day grow larger still, a move that could fundamentally alter the economics of the sport.
Speaking to Swiss television during the tournament, the FIFA president said a 64-team World Cup was among the ideas that could be examined once the finals were over, reopening debate over how large the game’s showpiece event can realistically become.
The logistical implications of another expansion are obvious. A bigger tournament would require more stadiums, more hotels, more transport and, most likely, more time.
But the financial implications could prove even more significant. By making qualification easier for many of the game’s biggest nations, a 64-team tournament could reduce the commercial value of qualifying competitions while increasing the importance of FIFA’s own flagship event.
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If broadcasters place less value on qualifying campaigns, soccer’s six regional confederations could become increasingly dependent on FIFA’s own distributions, potentially shifting more financial influence — and power — towards the global governing body.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for the World Cup itself, and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers either. So I’m not supporting that idea,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said last year. The European governing body’s position has not changed since then.
Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has also voiced opposition, questioning last year where further expansion might end.
FIFA did not reply to requests for comment.
“I think it is important that when you want to organise a World Cup, you do it for the whole world — not just Europe and South America,” Infantino said when discussing the idea of an expanded tournament. “If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
