FIFA President Infantino hails 48‑team World Cup success, weighs 64‑team expansion

FIFA has expanded the 2026 World Cup to 48 national teams, with the tournament staged across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. President Gianni Infantino called the format a “huge success,” noting that every continent produced goals and that nine of ten African teams reached the knockout stage, a sharp rise from the previous edition. He said the larger field boosts global participation and has already doubled FIFA’s four‑year World Cup revenue to about $11 billion.

Infantino indicated that the federation will study a further increase to 64 teams after the 2026 event, arguing that more nations should have the chance to dream of World Cup participation. He warned that such an expansion would require even more stadiums, training centres and logistical capacity, limiting viable hosts to very large or wealthy nations. The next editions are set for a multi‑nation 2030 tournament involving Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and a 2034 edition in Saudi Arabia with a projected $20 billion stadium programme.

The expansion also sparked commercial offshoots, such as FIFA’s limited‑edition sale of pieces of the final‑match turf, projected to generate over $11 million.