Fifa is moving swiftly with plans to expand the World Cup to 64 teams, starting from the 2030 tournament. The global governing body has opened a tender for research companies to assess the economic benefits of this significant expansion on an accelerated timeline.
A “research brief” outlines a consultation process to evaluate the potential increase from the current 48 teams. The successful research party, to be selected on 14 August, will have just four weeks to complete the analysis, with a delivery deadline of 11 September. This rapid schedule indicates that a decision on the expansion could be made before the end of the year.
This development follows a week of revelations concerning Fifa's plans to reshape football, including proposals to sell parts of the World Cup to private investors. Uefa has already threatened to boycott future tournaments if those schemes are not shelved, and further opposition is anticipated regarding the 64-team expansion.
The 2030 World Cup is set to be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with individual games also scheduled in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay to mark the tournament's 100th anniversary. An expanded format would likely enable each of these centenary host nations to host at least an entire group.