KUALA LUMPUR – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has held talks with South America’s top football leaders on a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams, in what could become the biggest edition of the tournament yet.
Infantino met CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez in New York on Tuesday evening, alongside Argentina and Uruguay’s federation chiefs, Paraguayan President Santiago Pena and Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, German news agency dpa reported.
It marked the first time CONMEBOL formally presented the plan in person to Infantino, after Uruguay floated the idea during a FIFA Council online session in March.
“We believe in a historic 2030 World Cup,” Dominguez wrote on Instagram, sharing a photograph with Infantino and other South American officials.
According to Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper, Infantino himself had called for the meeting and is supportive of the expansion plan.
FIFA already expanded the men’s tournament from 32 to 48 teams starting with the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. But if the new proposal is approved, the 2030 edition would see 64 teams compete in 128 matches — doubling the number of games compared to the format used from 1998 to 2022.
The 2030 World Cup will span three continents, with Morocco, Portugal, and Spain jointly hosting the main tournament. In a nod to history, a centenary match and celebration will take place in Uruguay, the site of the first World Cup in 1930, while Argentina and Paraguay will each host one match. — September 24, 2025