UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has strongly criticized the idea of expanding the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams, calling it “a bad idea” during a press conference at the 49th UEFA Ordinary Congress in Belgrade on Thursday.
The 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, is set to increase the tournament’s size from 32 to 48 teams. However, the head of the Uruguayan Football Federation, Ignacio Alonso, proposed further expanding the tournament to 64 teams during the FIFA Council meeting in March. This suggestion has sparked debate within the football community.
In his remarks, Ceferin questioned the rationale behind the proposal and expressed his concerns over its potential negative impact on both the World Cup and the qualification process. “It’s maybe even more surprising for me than for you. I think it’s a bad idea,” he stated. He also noted that the proposal could complicate the qualification process, which many see as already challenging and competitive.
Ceferin went on to express his dissatisfaction with the lack of prior consultation regarding the proposal. “I think it’s not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers as well, as you know,” he continued. “I’m not supporting that idea. I don’t know where it came from. It’s strange that we didn’t know anything before this proposal at the FIFA Council.”
The proposal to expand the World Cup further follows the agreement for the 2030 edition, which will be hosted across three continents. Portugal, Spain, and Morocco will be the primary hosts, with three matches also taking place in South America—Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay—to mark the centenary of the tournament, which began in Uruguay in 1930. The 2030 World Cup is expected to be a historic event, with the unique distribution of games across three continents.
In addition to this, the 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, following the decisions made in recent FIFA meetings.
