FIFA Denies Proposal For The 2030 World Cup Followed By 64 Teams

JAKARTA - The World Football Federation (FIFA) has denied rumors about the increase in the number of participants in the 2030 World Cup. Previously, there were rumors that by 2030, the World Cup would feature 64 teams.

The 2030 World Cup is scheduled to take place in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, as well as some matches in South America. However, for the number of participating teams, it will still be the same as in the 2026 edition, namely using a format of 48 teams.

Quoted from The Guardian, the rumors that the number of teams that increased to 64 things did not receive support from the FIFA Council.

"Gianni (Infantino) will not be able to pass the proposal (addition of participants) in the Council even if he wants it."

"The majority of views are on the table and not just from Europe that 64 teams will damage the World Cup. There will be too many uncompetitive matches and risk damaging business models," The Guardian reported on Thursday, September 25, 2025.

Previously, rumors of the increase in the number of participating teams emerged after a meeting at Trump Tower which said FIFA was considering adding participants to 64 teams.

Consequently, the number of groups has increased from 12 to 16 and more matches will be held in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Currently, there are 211 national teams recognized by FIFA. With a format of 64 teams, around 30 percent of the total members will participate in the World Cup.

However, it seems that it will only make the tournament unfavorable so that the rebuttal is expressed by FIFA.