The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has officially presented a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, an idea that has generated criticism, including from UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, who called the proposal “a bad idea.” The initiative was announced by Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol, during the organization’s 80th Ordinary Congress.
Alejandro Domínguez justified the proposal as a way to commemorate the centenary of the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930. According to Domínguez, “we are convinced that the centennial celebration will be unique because 100 years is celebrated only once”. The proposal includes the participation of 64 teams and the organization of the tournament on three continents, with six host countries: Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
The 2030 World Cup is already scheduled to be the most extensive edition in history, with multiple venues spread across three continents. However, Conmebol’s proposal seeks to go further, doubling the number of teams compared to the 32-team format used between 1998 and 2022.
Criticism of expansion and its quality
The proposal for a 64-team World Cup has been the subject of criticism from football experts and leaders. Aleksander Čeferin, president of UEFA, voiced his opposition, calling the idea “bad.” Critics argue that an expansion of this magnitude could weaken the quality of the game and devalue the qualifying stages in most continents.
An example of this impact would be in South America, where all 10 Conmebol member countries would be virtually guaranteed to qualify for the tournament, eliminating the competitiveness of the qualifiers. Currently, Venezuela is the only Conmebol country that has never qualified for a World Cup.
A tournament with 128 matches?
If FIFA approves the proposal, the 2030 World Cup would include 128 matches, double the 64 matches played in tournaments between 1998 and 2022. This increase poses significant logistical challenges, in addition to potential criticism about saturation of the football calendar and player attrition.
The expansion to 48 teams will already be a reality for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. However, this expansion has raised concerns about the loss of value of the group stage, as it will allow eight of the 12 teams that finish third to advance to the knockout stage.
“No one should be left out of the party”
Despite the criticism, Dominguez defended the proposal as an opportunity to include more countries in the World Cup experience. “This will allow all countries to have the opportunity to live the World Cup experience and no one on the planet should be left out of the party,” said the president of Conmebol.
