FIFA Council Approves World Cup Expansion to 48 Teams Starting from 2026

The World Cup expansion will feature 48 nations, with 16 groups comprised of three teams, after the FIFA Council made a unanimous decision in Zurich.

This will see group games scaled down to merely two matches for each country that participates – instead of the standard three games – and will see the top two teams progress to the final 32 in the knockout phase of the tournament.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is credited as the architect behind the World Cup expansion, with the underlying assumption being that smaller nations will have a greater chance of make an appearance at the finals, while also boosting countless revenue sources with the increased number of games.

FIFA Council unanimously decides on expansion of the FIFA World Cup to a 48-team competition as of 2026. https://t.co/zPRIt5lU0w

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) 10. siječnja 2017.

The remaining two World Cups (Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022) will keep the standard 32-team format, however subsequent competitions – starting with the 2026 tournament – will implement the World Cup expansion plan of 48 teams. This means that instead of the 64 games there are with the 32 participating nations, there will be a total of 80 games with the new format.

FIFA is set to cash in on a range of improved commercial pursuits, from TV rights deals and sponsorship agreements to ticket sales and merchandising. According to ESPN FC, Russia 2018 is currently projected to rake in $5.5 billion in revenues from all financial deals associated with the tournament, while the World Cup expansion with 48 teams would help generate an increase of another $1 billion on top of that.

Man United manager Jose Mourinho had his say on the World Cup expansion; which would actually see players compete in less games, if their respective nations happen to be knocked-out early in the competition’s new format.

“I’m totally in favour. As a club manager, if the expansion meant more games, less holidays and less pre-season for players, I would say no. But it’s important for critics to analyse and understand that expansion doesn’t mean more matches. Players are protected and clubs are protected in this way. I prefer groups of three. Two matches and then through to the knock-out stages or go home.”

Read Jose Mourinho’s full view on the World Cup expansion here.

Despite the obvious financial benefits that are directly linked with the World Cup expansion, football politics cannot be ignored in this matter. What is the motivation behind the increase in participating nations at the finals? After Sepp Blatter received the axe from the top position in football in early 2016, Gianni Infantino put forward the World Cup expansion proposal to sway political support from member nations his way. The Swiss-born Italian initially planned to introduce a 40-team World Cup, however that idea was later dropped for the more lucrative and politically-appealing 48-nation World Cup.

(Image credit: The Guardian)

With the World Cup expansion, questions will undoubtedly be raised as to the effect it will have on the value of the tournament itself? There are concerns that minor nations with limited to no prior experience at the highest stage will make the finals less competitive and thus less entertaining for fans themselves. Yes, there will be increased revenues, but FIFA and the host nation will split up the pot, not the actual travelling supporters.

It is believed the Asian and the African confederations – AFC and CAF respectively – are set to benefit the most from the World Cup expansion, with each getting four new spots at the finals. The European football’s governing body UEFA – the confederation with the most number of participating nations (13+1) at the tournament – is aiming to have 16 teams with the increased format starting from 2026.

FIFA will announce the host for the 2026 World Cup in 2020, however the United States has already tabled a preliminary bid (the US has previously hosted the tournament in 1994), and it’s yet to be decided whether they’ll compete to stage the tournament alone or opt for a co-hosting bid with either Canada or Mexico, according to USA Today. Despite there being reservations about a co-hosting tournament in some footballing corners, there would be precedent for the co-bid by either USA-Canada or USA-Mexico, considering the 2002 World Cup was staged in South Korea and Japan – the only of its kind in FIFA’s history to date.

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