The idea of ​​64 teams participating in the 2030 World Cup has faced opposition.

Many leaders of member football federations disagree with the proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams.

Argentina are the reigning World Cup champions.

Victor Montagliani, President of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), stated in The Times : "I don't think expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams is the right choice for the tournament itself and for our football ecosystem, from national teams to club leagues, domestic leagues or players."

He emphasized: "We haven't even started the World Cup with a 48-team format yet, so personally, I think expanding to 64 teams shouldn't even be discussed."

Montagliani's statement comes as the President of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), Alejandro Dominguez, officially proposed the idea of ​​expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams. The 2030 World Cup is expected to be the most complex final tournament ever, as it will be held across three continents to celebrate the tournament's centenary.

Spain, Portugal, and Morocco were the three co-hosting countries, but they agreed to cede the hosting rights for three matches to Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay (one match each) to mark a historic milestone. Uruguay had previously hosted the first tournament in 1930.

Therefore, CONMEBOL believes that the 2030 World Cup should expand the number of participating teams to 64 to create a unique tournament, one that will only happen once in this century. However, this idea was later strongly opposed by UEFA.

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has stated that the idea of ​​increasing the number of teams in the 2030 World Cup to 64 is "unwise". Furthermore, the President of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, has also expressed concern that this proposal risks causing "chaos" in the structure of world football.

CONMEBOL's proposal to increase the number of teams requires a lengthy approval process. Increasing the number of teams also means a greater number of matches. World Cups from 1998 to 2022 featured only 64 matches; this number will increase to 104 in 2026. With a 64-team format, a total of 128 matches will be played.

Source: https://znews.vn/y-tuong-64-doi-du-world-cup-2030-bi-phan-doi-post1545912.html