Key keywords: Gianni Infantino, FIFA, 64-team World Cup, World Cup format reform, 2034 FIFA World Cup, global football development, player welfare, World Cup commercial revenue Speaking at a press briefing following the latest FIFA Council meeting held in Zurich on Wednesday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino officially confirmed that the global football governing body will launch a comprehensive review into the possibility of expanding the men’s FIFA World Cup to a 64-team format for future editions, potentially as early as the 2034 tournament. The announcement comes two years ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, which will mark the first time the tournament adopts the 48-team structure, upgraded from the 32-team format that has been in place since the 1998 World Cup in France. Infantino noted that the overwhelming positive reception to expanded continental tournaments, including the 24-team 2023 AFC Asian Cup and the upcoming 32-team UEFA European Championship in 2024, has proven that increasing the number of participating nations can drive higher fan engagement across underrepresented football regions without eroding overall competition quality. According to Infantino, a 64-team World Cup would open up qualification slots to an additional 16 national teams, with a specific focus on allocating more spots to confederations including the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), where local football development has accelerated rapidly in recent years. He added that the expansion would also generate significant additional commercial revenue that can be reinvested into grassroots football programs across all 211 FIFA member associations, supporting youth training facilities, women’s football development and targeted financial aid for lower-income national federations. The review process will be led by a specially appointed task force composed of FIFA officials, player association representatives, confederation leaders, broadcast partners and sports medical experts, who will assess a wide range of factors including proposed tournament scheduling, venue capacity requirements, player load management protocols, broadcast logistics and fan experience metrics. The task force is scheduled to deliver its final feasibility report to the FIFA Council by the end of 2025, with a final vote on the proposed expansion expected to take place in early 2026. However, the proposal has already sparked widespread debate across the global football community, with critics raising concerns about potential drops in match quality, further overcrowding of the already packed international football calendar, and heightened risk of player burnout, particularly for elite athletes who compete in top European domestic leagues and continental club competitions throughout the year.