CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is not happy about a new proposal to expand the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup to 64 teams.
The idea came from Conmebol, South America’s football body, as a way to celebrate the tournament’s 100-year anniversary. But many top football leaders are not on board.
Montagliani strongly disagreed, saying, “We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”
The 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by USA, Mexico, and Canada, will be the first with 48 teams—up from the 32 used since 1998. That change was approved back in 2017.
The 2030 World Cup will be co-hosted by Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, with the opening matches in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. If expanded to 64 teams, the tournament could include 128 matches—double the usual number!
Other football leaders, including UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin and the AFC president Sheikh Salman, also said the idea would cause “chaos” and hurt the game.
The final decision could come during FIFA’s 75th Congress in Paraguay on May 15.
