South American football governing body Conmebol has formally proposed expanding the 2030 World Cup to include 64 teams.
The concept was first informally and “spontaneously” suggested by Ignacio Alonso, the president of the Uruguayan Football Association, at the end of a Fifa council meeting last month. Fifa acknowledged the idea as it does any proposal by a member.
Now Conmebol has submitted an official proposal to mark the centennial of the World Cup, which was first won by Uruguay, by expanding the tournament even further.
“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,” Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez said at the body’s congress on Thursday.
“We are convinced that the centennial celebration will be unique because 100 years are celebrated only once.”
The 2026 World Cup has already expanded beyond the standard format, to 48 teams, with a move to 64 teams meaning the 2030 edition would feature 128 matches. The 2026 tournament, which will be held across the USA, Canada and Mexico, will include 104 matches up from the current 64.
It would also include over a quarter of Fifa’s 211 member nations, with critics saying a further expansion would devalue the quality of games. Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has been among those to describe the proposal as a “bad idea”.
The centennial celebration of the World Cup is already a sprawling affair, taking place on three continents and with concerns raised at the environmental impact of the tournament.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco are confirmed hosts and matches will also take place in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark the anniversary.
