'No need to go beyond 48' - CONCACAF's Victor Montagliani rejects proposed 64-team World Cup put forth by CONMEBOL, calls it unnecessary

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani rejected the concept of a 64-team World Cup in 2030, proposed by CONMEBOL, calling it unrealistic and unnecessary. The 2026 World Cup will expand to 48 teams, and Montagliani emphasized that adding more teams would dilute quality and strain logistics.

"There's no need to go beyond 48. We've already achieved expansion, and that brings enough inclusion while maintaining competitiveness," he told ESPN.

CONMEBOL had floated the idea earlier this year, suggesting that a larger tournament would provide more opportunities to smaller nations, but the proposal has faced skepticism from other confederations.

Similarly, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), led by Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, rejected the idea, calling it a "bad move" and warning that it could cause "chaos."

Despite the criticism, CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez defended the idea, saying that the 100-year anniversary of the World Cup deserves a special edition that includes more teams and more global representation. FIFA has not made any official comments on the matter yet, but the proposal is expected to be reviewed during the FIFA Congress scheduled for May 15 in Paraguay.

In recent days, CONMEBOL submitted an official proposal to FIFA requesting an expansion of the number of national teams participating in the World Cup, aiming to increase the total to 64. The South American confederation argued that such an expansion would allow more countries to take part in the historic celebration of the tournament's 100th anniversary.

As the global football community awaits FIFA’s verdict, the debate over the structure and future of the World Cup continues to intensify.

UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin also dismissed CONMEBOL’s proposal, pointing out that a potential expansion to 64 teams would create complications for the qualification process.

"I think it's a bad idea - it’s not good for the World Cup or for our qualifiers," he said. "So I do not support that idea."

The 2026 World Cup will mark the first time the tournament is played with 48 national teams, expanding from the traditional 32-team format that had been in place since the 1998 edition in France. This change represents a significant shift in the tournament’s structure, allowing more nations from around the world to participate on football’s biggest stage.