CONMEBOL boss pushes 64-team World Cup 2030 amid clarification

In the early light of Tuesday morning, CONMEBOL boss Alejandro Domínguez, the Paraguayan football administrator, posted a clarifying tweet today after his earlier, perhaps premature, announcement that the 2030 World Cup would feature 64 teams, a statement that had sparked immediate attention across the football world.

Domínguez had taken to social media on Monday evening, a day after the World Cup final, to look ahead to the 2030 tournament. He noted that the next edition will be staged in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The South American football chief framed the news as a bold vision for the sport’s future.

He described the expanded format as a beautiful opportunity to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup, first contested in Uruguay in 1930. The centennial milestone, he said, deserved a tournament of 64 teams to mark the hundred‑year history.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino had already indicated that expanding the competition from 48 to 64 teams is a serious option, lending weight to Domínguez’s proposal. Infantino’s comments came after the World Cup final, reinforcing the timing of the CONMEBOL boss’s post.

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Reuters reached out to FIFA for comment on the matter, but the governing body has not yet issued a response.

Later on Tuesday, Domínguez refined his earlier message in a new X post, stating, “We are doing everything to ensure the 2030 World Cup is played with 64 teams in honour of the hundred‑year anniversary.”

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He added that the centenary offers a historic chance to dream big, noting that the recent expansion to 48 teams has shown benefits for the sport’s development and global reach.

Domínguez concluded by urging that the World Cup become the biggest football festival ever, emphasizing the importance of a truly global celebration.