BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Alejandro Dominguez, the president of South American soccer's ruling body CONMEBOL, made an official proposal on Thursday to expand the men’s 2030 World Cup to 64 teams.
The proposal was first introduced last month by a delegate from Uruguay during an online meeting of FIFA's ruling council chaired by its president, Gianni Infantino, that blindsided officials from Europe.
“We are convinced that the centennial celebration will be unique because 100 years are celebrated only once,” Dominguez said during his opening speech at CONMEBOL’s 80th Ordinary Congress.
The 2030 World Cup is already set to be the most sprawling edition with six host nations spread across three continents.
Uruguay was the original World Cup host in 1930 and is scheduled to stage one game. Paraguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Morocco are also co-hosts.
“That is why we are proposing, for the first time, to hold this anniversary with 64 teams, on three continents simultaneously,” added Domínguez.
There were 32 teams in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. That number will be expanded to 48 at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Expanding to 64 teams likely would guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL member countries a place in a bigger tournament. Venezuela is the only one that has never qualified for a World Cup.
“This will allow all countries to have the opportunity to live the world experience and so nobody on the planet is left out of the party,” added Dominguez.
If FIFA approves the move, it would create a tournament of 128 matches, double the number of the 64-game format that was played from 1998 through 2022.
Infantino has consistently pushed for bigger and new tournaments in his presidency since 2016, seeking more revenue to give to FIFA’s 211 member federations and more chances for their national team to qualify.
However, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has called a 64-team World Cup ‘a bad idea’.
Critics of the 64-team proposal have argued it will weaken the quality of play and devalue the qualifying program in most continents.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Débora Rey, The Associated Press