UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has slammed FIFA’s decision to consider the expansion of the World Cup to 64 nations for the 2030 tournament to be hosted by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.
The 2026 edition in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico will feature 48 teams, an improvement from the 32 team format in recent years.
The head of the Uruguayan Football Federation, Ignacio Alonso suggested that the tournament should be expanded at the last FIFA Council meeting in March.
FIFA confirmed that the proposal would be analysed.
Ceferin has described the proposal as a bad idea for the competition, and the qualifiers.
He said: “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 will be played in three continents to celebrate the centenary edition with Morocco, Spain, and Portugal the hosts.
Matches will be played in South America in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The first game, alongside a special centenary celebration, will be held in the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The second and third games will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Asunción, Paraguay, respectively. The rest of the games will be held in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
In terms of the countries, this will be the first World Cup held in Morocco, Portugal, and Paraguay.
The inaugural World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay.
