South America proposes a unique form of 64 teams for the World Cup in 2030

Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South America’s football administration, officially proposed the extension of the 2030 Men’s FIFA World Cup to 64 teams, citing the centenary of the tournament as the only opportunity for global accession.

Dominguez made the announcement during his inaugural address at the 80th Congress of Conmebol, based on a proposal initially introduced last month by a Uruguayan spokesman during a meeting of the FIFA Council chaired by President Gianni Infantino.

“We are convinced that Centennial’s celebration will be unique because 100 years are celebrated only once,” Dominguez said. “That is why we propose, for the first time, to keep this anniversary with 64 groups, on three continents at the same time.”

The 2030 tournament is already set to be the most geographically different edition in the history of the World Cup, with six co-operators on three continents: Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Uruguay, which hosted the 1930 World Cup in 1930, is scheduled to organize the opening race.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar presented 32 teams. This number will rise to 48 in 2026, when the United States, Mexico and Canada host the tournament. A further expansion to 64 teams in 2030 would result in 128 matches, doubled the number in question in 1998 to 2022.

The move will probably guarantee automatic qualifications for all 10 CONMEBOL members, including Venezuela, which has never reached a World Cup.

“This will allow all countries to have the opportunity to experience world experience and so no one on the planet is left of the party,” Dominguez said.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino supported larger tournaments during his term, claiming that they are increasing revenue distribution and expanding global participation. However, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has criticized the proposal, calling a 64 -team “A Bad Idea” World Cup.

Critics warn that such an extension could mitigate the quality of competition and reduce the importance of regional qualifying campaigns.