South American football president Alejandro Domínguez says it would be a great opportunity to mark the World Cup’s 100th anniversary in 2030 with 64 teams.
The next men’s tournament will held in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The latter three will have opening games to commemorate the first ever tournament in Uruguay in 1930, before action switches over the Atlantic.
But the number of teams has yet to be confirmed and FIFA president Gianni Infantino hinted during the recent 2026 edition, held with a record 48 teams, that he could envisage 64 in four years’ time.
Domínguez is adamant it can work.
“The next match will be played at home!”, the head of the South American continental confederation CONMEBOL wrote on X late on Monday.
“In 2030, the World Cup will be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – a great opportunity for football to celebrate the World Cup’s 100th anniversary with a tournament featuring 64 teams.”
The 2030 event is currently planned for June 8 to July 21 and would be the longest World Cup in history at 44 days.
The 48-team tournament meant an extra round of 32 and had the eight best third-placed nations from the groups going through. A 64-team event would make more sense mathematically with only group winners and second-placed teams going through to the knock-outs and no extra games per team compared to this year.
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