FIFA plans for 64-team WC despite backlash

FIFA has started a consultation process over an expansion of the Men's World Cup to 64 teams, with documents seen by ESPN aiming for a decision by Aug. 14. The cut-off date is a month before Gianni Infantino's deadline for 211 member associations to green light his plan to sell off a stake controlling FIFA major competitions. The $20 billion sell off plan unveiled by Infantino, the FIFA president, appears to be in ruins following statements by UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Soccer Federation (AFC) condemning and rejecting the proposal, before his senior adviser quit over it. But despite widespread opposition to the attempt to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private investors, FIFA distributed a research brief titled "Potential expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 64 teams" on Thursday, with a brief timescale of just 15 days to reach a decision. The 2026 Men's World Cup, won by Spain earlier this month, was the first 48-team tournament and a further expansion to 64 teams had previously been rejected privately by senior FIFA figures. But in the five-page document seen by ESPN, FIFA says it is "considering the strategic implications of a possible expansion of the FIFA World Cup beyond the current format. "Therefore, FIFA wishes to appoint an independent agency to determine whether and how expanding the FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 participating teams, starting with the 2030 edition, would impact on the tournament proposition football ecosystem." The document green lit "research brief sharing" on July 30 with "agency proposal delivery on Aug. 7." A FIFA decision is scheduled to follow on Aug. 14 prior to the full analysis being delivered on Sept. 11 -- eight days before Infantino's deadline for acceptance of his sell-off plan. Infantino is already under increasing pressure from regional confederations and although he had been expected to re-elected unopposed for another four year term in 2027, his attempt to expand the World Cup following such a brief consultation period will likely harden opposition to the Swiss-Italian. - FIFA defends World Cup private equity plan: 'Nobody is selling football' - Gianni Infantino dealt another blow as AFC rejects WC plans The most controversial aspect of the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) was the proposal to sell minority stakes in it to private investors. Thrive Eternal -- a company founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of the U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is earmarked to lead the investor group, FIFA has said. Those plans have been rejected by UEFA -- which also intends to boycott FIFA competitions until the project is scrapped -- along with the AFC and the confederation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf). Infantino's senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, also announced his resignation on Friday morning, with the investment banker calling the FFE proposal "a bad deal for football." The threat of bigger and more frequent tournaments was highlighted as a key concern for UEFA if private equity had an influence over their running. AFC's statement was especially damning for Infantino, calling for an "urgent review" of its governance framework and pointing out: "This is not the first occasion where major stakeholders have been confronted with significant initiatives after the direction of travel appears to have already been determined." Information from PA was used in this report.