Fifa is to consider a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams, an adjustment that would mean more than a quarter of its 211 member associations would take part.
The idea was raised at a meeting of the Fifa council on Wednesday as part of any other business.
According to reporting in the New York Times, the delegate was Ignacio Alonso, the president of the Uruguayan Football Association.
Uruguay will be one of three South American countries to host a “centenary celebration match” in 2030. Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, agreed to explore the idea further.
A Fifa spokesperson told the Guardian it had a duty to consider all requests from council members:“A proposal to analyse a 64-team Fifa World Cup to celebrate the centenary of the Fifa World Cup in 2030 was spontaneously raised by a Fifa council member in the ‘miscellaneous’ agenda item near the end of the Fifa council meeting held on 5 March 2025. The idea was acknowledged as Fifa has a duty to analyse any proposal from one of its council members.”