2030 World Cup: moving from 48 to 64 teams would lead to "chaos" according to AFC president

"Personally, I don't agree. The 2030 edition of the World Cup has already been adopted with the participation of 48 teams, so the matter is settled," said Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa (BHR), president of the Asian Football Confederation, to Agence France Presse on 12/04/2025, regarding a possible increase in the number of national teams taking part in the 2030 World Cup from 48 to 64.

"If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos. If we want to discuss subsequent tournaments... that's a different matter," added the AFC president on the sidelines of the Asian Confederation's 35^th Congress in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

This proposal was put forward at the last FIFA Council meeting on 05/03/2025 by Ignacio Alonso, president of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), who suggested a move to 64 teams "to celebrate the World Cup's Centenary."

The idea was then taken up and defended at…