Gianni Infantino opened the door to the World Cup for 64 teams

Infantino in 2010.

Less than a year later, that was increased to 48 and approved by the FIFA Council, starting with the 2026 finals.

Since then, speculations that FIFA wants to go further and faster have never disappeared.

In the year Up to 48 teams have been discussed at the 2022 finals, but it has been accepted that Qatar cannot host a tournament of that size on its own.

And here’s the thing – the bigger the World Cup, the more challenging it is to handle.

This year is a wide area in three countries. In the year The 2030 Games will be hosted by six countries – Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

How Saudi Arabia will cope with the 128-match tournament in 2034, which includes 64 teams, remains to be seen.

However, in two respects it is a great vote for Infantino.

First, it gives more countries a chance to play in the World Cup. In fact, the 64-team World Cup will represent more than a third of the 211 FIFA-affiliated countries.

A bigger World Cup also means more revenue for member associations.