President of the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) Aleksander Ceferin has said on Thursday that it would be “a bad idea” for Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) to expand the World Cup to 64 nations for the 2030 tournament
The upcoming edition of 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will already see the format increase from 32 teams to 48.
But the head of the Uruguayan football federation, Ignacio Alonso, suggested further that the tournament should be expanded more at the last FIFA Council meeting in March.
Football’s global governing body said it “had a duty to analyse” the proposal, which European chief Ceferin denounced at UEFA’s congress in Belgrade.
“It’s maybe even more surprising for me than for you. I think it’s a bad idea,” Ceferin said.
“I think it’s not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers as well, as you know.
“So, I’m not supporting that idea. I don’t know where it came from. It’s strange that we didn’t know anything before this proposal at the FIFA Council.”
The 2030 World Cup edition will be hosted in three continents, with Portugal, Spain and Morocco the main hosts among others.
The edition will also features some matches in South America like Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to celebrate the centenary edition, with the world cup started in 1930 in Uruguay.
The decision automatically paved the way for Saudi Arabia to host the tournament in 2034.
