UEFA President Criticizes Proposal to Expand World Cup to 64 Teams

Mr. Aleksander Ceferin criticized the proposal to increase the World Cup to 64 teams - Photo: REUTERS

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) President Aleksander Ceferin has strongly opposed the proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams. At the same time, he called this a "bad idea" and criticized FIFA for not informing UEFA about this proposal in advance.

FIFA confirmed last month that it would consider expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams to mark the tournament's centenary. The idea was raised by Uruguayan Football Federation President Ignacio Alonso at a FIFA council meeting.

However, Mr. Ceferin and UEFA will not support this: "This proposal is crazy. This is not a good idea for the World Cup and for our qualifying rounds," he said at the UEFA annual congress ending in Belgrade (Serbia).

UEFA will have 16 teams in the 2026 World Cup when it goes to 48 teams for the first time, with the number set to increase to 64 if the tournament expands. But UEFA is not keen on a heavily diluted qualifying tournament.

Argentina is the champion of the 2022 World Cup - Photo: Theguardian

The 2030 World Cup will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with special matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. This is a World Cup that Russia could potentially participate in, depending on a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine.

Mr Ceferin has maintained his stance on Russia's return: "When the war is over, they will be reintegrated," he said. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has previously expressed his desire to see Russia return to play when the conditions are right.

Previously, the UEFA president also complained to FIFA about the world's largest football body wanting to "exhaust" players when expanding the FIFA Club World Cup.

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THANH DINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chu-tich-uefa-chi-trich-de-xuat-world-cup-tang-len-64-doi-20250404130501159.htm