The FIFA World Cup has undergone many changes in recent years, with the upcoming 2026 edition that has set 48 national teams for the first time. However, plans for the 2030 tournament have led to new controversy, such as UEFA President Alexander Cafer Wasked Fifa and its president, Gianni Infantino, over a proposal to extend the event further.
On March 5, Ignacio AlonsoPresident for Uruguayan Football AssociationThe Suggested to extend the World Cup 2030 to 64 teams During a FIFA council’s video conference. The edition would mark the tournament’s 100th anniversary, as the first World Cup was held in 1930.
At a press conference after Thursday’s UEFA Congress in Belgrade, Ceferin offered its first reaction to the proposal. “This suggestion was perhaps even more surprising to me than for you“He said.
Ceferin then expressed clear opposition to the idea and claimed that such an extension would undermine the integrity of UEFA’s qualification process: “I think it’s a bad idea. I don’t think it’s a good idea for the World Cup itself, and it’s not a good idea for our qualification phase.
“So I don’t support that idea. It is strange that we did not know anything about it before this proposal was made at the end of Fifa Council meeting. I don’t know where it came from“He added. His comments come in the midst of growing tensions between Uefa and Fifa, worsen An overloaded calendar And the new 32-team Club World Cup which debuted in 2025.
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Infantinos attitude to 64-team World Cup
FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino has advocated sweeping changes in international football over the past decade. From hosting the first World Cup in the Middle East (Qatar 2022), to extending the 2026 tournament to 48 teams and introducing a renewed club -World Cup, His service has been characterized by aggressive global expansion.
Although Infantino was present at the UEFA Congress, he did not address publicly 64 team’s proposal. Fifa, for its part, called the idea ”spontaneous“And stated that it has”an obligation to evaluate“Such proposals – without revealing the president’s personal position.
