FIFA has set 14 August as the date for a decision on whether to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, according to Foot Mercato, citing an official FIFA press release. If it passes, it would reshape the tournament more dramatically than any structural change since the field doubled to 32 teams in 1998 — and not everyone is going to like it.
The current 48-team format only made its debut at the 2026 World Cup in North America, so the idea of immediately pushing to 64 would represent a remarkable acceleration — one that FIFA, under Gianni Infantino, appears willing to pursue. Foot Mercato reports the decision is expected on 14 August, though the full context of the press release — including which FIFA body will vote, what criteria are being applied, and what triggered this specific date — has not been fully confirmed from the available excerpt.
What is clear is that this isn't a casual internal review. A move to 64 teams would reshape almost every part of how the World Cup works: confederation qualification allocations, the group-stage format, the number of matches, host nation infrastructure requirements, and the length of the tournament itself.
For context: the 32-team format ran from 1998 to 2022. The jump to 48 was already contentious — critics argued it diluted the group stage and handed automatic qualification to nations who hadn't earned it on merit. Going to 64 would double the original field and add another round of matches to an already bloated calendar.
On the other side, confederations with historically low allocations — CAF (Africa), CONMEBOL (South America), and the AFC (Asia) — would likely gain spots, which carries genuine sporting and political weight. More nations in the tournament means more of the world represented. Whether the match quality holds up at that scale is the central question, and 14 August won't settle it.
Foot Mercato's framing references turbulence around Infantino, though the specifics aren't detailed in the available reporting. What's not in dispute is that FIFA's decision-making under his tenure has consistently prioritised expansion — of the Club World Cup, of the World Cup itself — and that this announcement lands while those broader governance questions remain live. Infantino did not, as far as available sourcing confirms, personally announce the August date publicly.
Gianni Infantino has never met a tournament he didn't want to make bigger. That's not a secret. The question for 14 August is whether the rest of FIFA's membership is still willing to follow.
FIFA has set 14 August as the date for a decision on whether to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, according to Foot Mercato, citing an official FIFA press release.
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Foot Mercato
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“Stays on FIFA — different angle, same beat.”
SELEÇÕES⚠️ Single-source story: this report rests solely on Football365 and has not been corroborated by a second outlet. A leaked internal FIFA memo, reportedly outlining plans to push the World Cup beyond i
“Stays on FIFA — different angle, same beat.”
SELEÇÕES⚠️ Single-source story: this report rests solely on Football365 and has not been corroborated by a second outlet. A leaked internal FIFA memo, reportedly outlining plans to push the World Cup beyond i
