Football365 reports leaked FIFA memo and senior resignation

What the memo reportedly says

Football365 reports that an apparent internal FIFA document suggests the organisation is actively exploring a further expansion of the World Cup — beyond the 48-team format already set for the 2026 edition co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and towards something closer to 64 teams. The memo's authenticity has not been independently confirmed, and no second outlet has corroborated the report at the time of writing. That caveat matters. But so does the fact that it exists at all — and that someone inside FIFA apparently felt strongly enough about it to let it out.

A resignation that raises the temperature

More immediately concrete is the departure of a senior aide to Infantino, which Football365 links directly to the fallout from the memo's emergence. The aide's name has not been reported, and the precise reasons for the resignation remain unconfirmed. What is clear is that a figure close to the FIFA president has chosen this moment — with the 2026 tournament less than a year away — to walk. Inside an organisation that has historically prized loyalty above almost everything else, that timing will not go unnoticed.

Critics argue Infantino has spent years consolidating power at FIFA. A public crack in that structure, however narrow, is the kind of detail they will not let go quietly.

Boycott calls get louder

Expansion has been a fault line in world football governance since Infantino first floated a 48-team format. The argument for it — more nations, more markets, more revenue — has always sat uneasily against the argument against it: more games, more fatigue, a diluted product, and a tournament calendar that already has players and clubs at breaking point.

If the memo's contents are accurate, the next logical question is where a 64-team World Cup would be played, how it would be scheduled, and who — beyond FIFA's commercial partners — actually wants it. Boycott calls have circulated at various points over the past two years; this leak, verified or not, gives those calls a sharper edge.

What this means for Infantino

FIFA's credibility as a governing body has never fully recovered from the corruption scandals of the last decade. Infantino's pitch has always been that he represents a cleaner, more inclusive era — more nations at the table, more of the world involved. The 2026 expansion to 48 teams was sold on exactly that logic.

A 64-team World Cup, leaked rather than announced, accompanied by a resignation from his own staff — that is a story FIFA would have preferred to tell on its own terms, and on its own timetable.

Football365 remains the sole source on this story. Flagside will update as and when corroboration emerges.