CONCACAF President Challenges Expansion to 48-Team World Cup

Victor Montagliani, the president of CONCACAF, has expressed his disapproval of the recent initiative to increase the number of teams in the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64.

The upcoming 2026 World Cup, set to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will feature 48 teams for the first time, a step up from the 32 teams that competed in Qatar in 2022.

Montagliani cautioned that further expanding the tournament in 2030 could adversely affect “the broader football ecosystem.”

“I don’t think that enlarging the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is beneficial for the tournament or for the overall football ecosystem, including national teams, club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani conveyed to ESPN.

“We haven’t even launched the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t see the need to discuss expanding it to 64 teams.”

The 2030 World Cup will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with matches also scheduled to occur in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil.

Earlier this month, CONMEBOL, the governing body for South American football, garnered attention by advocating for the increase to 64 teams to commemorate the World Cup’s 100-year anniversary.

Should the tournament expand to 64 teams, it would feature 128 fixtures, a significant increase from the 64 matches that were played in Qatar in 2022.

“We are confident that the centenary celebration will be a remarkable occasion, as 100 years only come around once,” stated CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez.

“Therefore, we are proposing to host this anniversary with 64 teams for this one-time event, spread across three continents.

“This will ensure that every nation has the chance to partake in this global experience, making certain that no one is excluded from this celebration, which, although held worldwide, belongs to us all.”