Bigger Isn’t Better: The World Cup Expansion No One Asked For

Bigger Isn't Better: The World Cup Expansion No One Asked For

FIFA has never been shy about making bold changes to the game, but their latest flirtation might just take the biscuit. Whatever happened to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

Reports suggest that the 2030 World Cup, the 100th anniversary edition of the tournament, could swell to an eye-watering 64 teams. Yes, 64.

As if the already controversial move from 32 to 48 wasn't enough, FIFA now wants to inflate it even further.

On the surface, it sounds like a nice idea. More nations, more chances for smaller countries to rub shoulders with the giants, and more "inclusivity" on the world stage, blah, blah, blah.

But beneath the glossy PR nonsense, you start to see the cracks. This isn't about footballing romance. It's about power, profit, and control, and frankly, nobody asked for it.

🚨 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: FIFA are seriously considering making the 2030 World Cup a 64-team tournament. This is to celebrate 100 years since the First World Cup.

— @DiarioOle pic.twitter.com/8jiLEA6xNZ

— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) September 24, 2025

Who Actually Wants This?

That's the funny thing—no one wants it.

The beauty of the World Cup has always been its exclusivity.

Just qualifying is an achievement in itself, a badge of honor that comes after years of effort, sacrifice, and heartbreak. If you start letting in two-thirds of the world's national sides, you dilute everything that makes the tournament so special.

Qualifying suddenly feels less like scaling Everest and more like winning a fiver on a £5 scratchcard.

If Infantino gets his own way and increases the number of teams too 64 for the 2030 World Cup it will kill football as we know it.

— David Gentle🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🦁 Pearcey(1962-2006) (@DgGentle) September 24, 2025

There's also the quality issue. A handful of one-sided group games may be inevitable in any tournament, but with 64 teams, the risk is that the early stages become little more than a procession of drubbings. Fans do not want to watch glorified training sessions for the big sides.

And then there's the calendar. As if players are not already stretched to their limits, let's make them play even more games. Not only is it unnecessary, it's also reckless.

FIFA's Real Motivations

So if fans aren't crying out for it, and players and clubs would rather not deal with it, why does FIFA seem tempted by this grand expansion? Call me cynical, but the reasons are unlikely to be as noble as "growing the game."

First, money. More teams mean more matches, more TV slots, more sponsorship packages to flog. Even the dullest group stage encounter has dollar signs written all over it for Infantino and his cronies.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed next year’s World Cup final will have a half-time show. pic.twitter.com/PSTLGbb2ft

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 5, 2025

Then there's politics. By offering extra spots to smaller confederations, FIFA can buy goodwill and support. Every extra berth for Africa, Asia, or the Americas translates into voting power in future elections. Expansion is as much about shoring up influence as it is about football.

Have We Learned Nothing From Qatar and Russia?

If all this feels familiar, it's because FIFA has been here before.

There is an element of naivety and deafness that comes with everything FIFA puts its name to.

Remember all of the uproar around Qatar in 2022? Not only did the winter scheduling throw the football calendar into disrepute, but there was also the small matter of the countless human rights violations.

Or think back to Russia in 2018. At the time, the decision to award them hosting rights raised eyebrows for political reasons, with critics pointing out FIFA's willingness to cozy up to regimes with questionable records if it suited their agenda. The tournament itself delivered good football, but the moral questions persisted.

Not to mention the current controversies surrounding the 2026 edition in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

The proposed 64-team circus feels like more of the same.

Going back on time and telling people in 2022 the Qatar World Cup will be the *second* event with most human rights violations in this decade https://t.co/xUZss2CT8U

— ChatShuPT (@shuk3b4n_) May 7, 2025

What the World Cup Should Be

The 2030 edition is supposed to be special, as it marks 100 years since the first World Cup in Uruguay. But if FIFA really wants to honor the centenary, the answer isn't to inflate the tournament to cartoonish proportions. It's to protect what makes it unique.

A 48-team World Cup is already testing the limits, but it is manageable.

What FIFA should focus on is making that format work properly, prioritizing player welfare, and delivering a tournament that reminds the world of what makes this competition so special.

Fans don't tune in because the numbers are bigger. They tune in because the World Cup has always been the pinnacle of the sport, with the best players battling it out for the most coveted award in the world.

🇧🇷🏆 On this day in 2002, Brazil won their fifth #FIFAWorldCup! pic.twitter.com/lv9S06mnUh

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 30, 2025

Bigger Isn't Always Better

FIFA tends to present these initiatives as visionary steps, bold reforms, or historic gestures. But let's not kid ourselves. A 64-team World Cup isn't about the love of the game. It's about money, influence, and legacy.

Supporters didn't ask for it. Players certainly didn't. Even most countries, when pressed, don't seem overly keen. And yet here we are again, staring down the barrel of another overblown "innovation" that nobody really wants.

The World Cup doesn't need fixing. It doesn't need to get bigger for the sake of it. It just needs to remember what made it special in the first place. And until FIFA realizes that, we'll keep bracing ourselves for more changes nobody asked for.