Alejandro Domínguez, the president of South American soccer’s ruling body Conmebol, made an official proposal on Thursday to expand the men’s 2030 World Cup to 64.
Fifa is aware of the proposal, which was first introduced last March by a delegate from Uruguay during an online meeting of the ruling council of world soccer’s governing body.
“We are convinced that the centennial celebration will be unique because 100 years are celebrated only once,” Domínguez said during his opening speech at Conmebol’s 80th Ordinary Congress.
The 2030 World Cup is already set to be the most sprawling edition with six host nations spread across three continents. The World Cup that precedes it, in 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada, is set to be the first with an already expanded, 48-team field.
The 2026 expansion is already facing criticism that it devalues the group stage, with eight of 12 total third-place teams making the knockout round. Under a 32-team format, the top two teams in each group made the knockout round.
Uruguay was the original World Cup host in 1930 and is scheduled to stage one game in 2030. Paraguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Morocco are also co-hosts.
“That is why we are proposing, for the first time, to hold this anniversary with 64 teams, on three continents simultaneously,” added Domínguez.
Critics of the 64-team proposal have argued it will weaken the quality of play and devalue the qualifying program in most continents. For example, expanding to 64 teams would probably guarantee all 10 Conmebol member countries a place in a bigger tournament. Venezuela is the only one of the group that has never qualified for a World Cup.
“This will allow all countries to have the opportunity to live the world experience and so nobody on the planet is left out of the party,” added Domínguez.
If Fifa approves the move, it would create a tournament of 128 matches, double the number of the 64-game format that was played from 1998 through 2022.
However, Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin has called a 64-team World Cup “a bad idea.”
