Barely 24 hours after the curtain fell on the largest FIFA World Cup in history, South American football’s governing body, CONMEBOL, has already set its sights on making the next edition even bigger.
The organisation has formally renewed its campaign for the 2030 FIFA World Cup to feature 64 national teams, a proposal that would further expand football’s biggest competition just one tournament after FIFA increased participation from 32 to 48 nations.
CONMEBOL Wants Bigger World Cup For Historic Centenary
CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez made the appeal on social media shortly after the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup, describing the centenary edition as the perfect occasion to open the tournament to even more countries.
The 2030 World Cup will mark 100 years since the inaugural tournament and will be uniquely staged across Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host the opening matches in celebration of football’s historic milestone.
“The next one is at home!” Dominguez wrote.
“In 2030, the World Cup is coming to Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. It will be a great opportunity for football to celebrate the World Cup’s centenary with a 64-team tournament.”
If approved, the proposal would add 16 more teams to the newly expanded 48-team format that debuted at the 2026 World Cup.
Fresh Expansion Call Comes After Record-Breaking Tournament
The call follows what FIFA has described as the most inclusive World Cup ever staged.
The 2026 edition, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, featured 48 countries for the first time, giving more nations the opportunity to compete on football’s biggest stage.
The tournament ended on Sunday with Spain defeating Argentina in the final to lift their second FIFA World Cup trophy.
Dominguez praised FIFA President Gianni Infantino for overseeing what he described as a hugely successful competition.
“We experienced a historic World Cup, the first with 48 teams, a true success,” he said.
“Congratulations, dear Gianni Infantino, for such great organisation, and congratulations to Spain for becoming world champions.”
FIFA Yet To Decide
Although the proposal has reignited debate across the football world, the final decision rests with FIFA.
Infantino has previously suggested that the governing body would remain open to discussing further expansion after assessing the success of the 2026 tournament.
According to the FIFA president, the World Cup should continue evolving to reflect football’s global appeal.
“When organising a World Cup, it’s important to organise it for the whole world—not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world,” Infantino previously said.
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“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.”
What A 64-Team World Cup Could Mean
Should FIFA approve the proposal, the 2030 tournament would become the largest World Cup ever staged, significantly altering qualification across every continent.
More nations would secure World Cup places, offering smaller football countries a greater chance of reaching the global stage.
However, expanding the competition would also raise fresh questions about scheduling, player workload, logistics and the overall structure of the tournament.
For now, FIFA has yet to issue an official response to CONMEBOL’s latest request, but the conversation over the future of the World Cup has already begun, less than a day after the 2026 champions were crowned.