The Spanish newspaper AS reported that the idea of increasing the number of teams to more than 60 teams has regained momentum and acceptance among some national federations, after it was merely a proposal put forward by the South American Confederation (CONMEBOL) months ago, with the aim of expanding the scope of competition and giving countries that had not previously qualified the opportunity to appear in the global forum.
This discussion comes at a time when the first edition with its new system (48 teams) has not yet begun, which is scheduled to be launched next summer in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, which will witness for the first time the participation of teams such as Jordan, Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, and Curacao.
This approach is consistent with the vision of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, which aims to enhance “football pluralism” and transform the World Cup into a comprehensive global celebration festival. Although the proposal is still being studied, the newspaper suggested that FIFA will not reveal any final plans related to the 2030 World Cup before next July 19, which is the date of the final match of the 2026 World Cup, as the next tournament will constitute fertile ground for evaluating the experience and opening the discussion again.
