CONMEBOL called for the 2030 World Cup to expand to 64 teams as a one-off celebration of the tournament’s centenary.
The proposal would create a 128-match competition, twice the number played at every World Cup from 1998 to 2022.
CONMEBOL pushes for a bigger centenary tournament
President Alejandro Domínguez formally presented the plan at CONMEBOL’s 80th Ordinary Congress on 10 April 2025.
In a speech published by CONMEBOL, Domínguez argued that football could celebrate its World Cup centenary only once. He said a 64-team tournament would give every country a chance to share the experience.
The 2026 competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico was already set to become the first 48-team World Cup, up from 32.
Six countries and three continents already involved
Spain, Portugal and Morocco were named as the main hosts for 2030. Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay were each awarded one match to honour the first World Cup, staged in Uruguay in 1930.
A 64-team format would make it likely that all ten South American nations qualified. Venezuela were the only CONMEBOL member never to have appeared at a World Cup.
FIFA agrees to consider the proposal
Uruguayan football association president Ignacio Alonso first raised the idea during a FIFA Council meeting on 6 March.
FIFA said it had a duty to consider proposals submitted by members of the Council. The plan would still require broad support from world football’s governing body and its national associations.
UEFA president rejects the idea
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin opposed the expansion. Speaking after the UEFA Congress in Belgrade, he called it “a bad idea” for both the World Cup and European qualifying.
Čeferin also said the proposal had surprised him because it had not been discussed publicly before the FIFA Council meeting.
