405. The Dream

FIFA is considering expanding the men's World Cup from 48 teams to 64 teams after the 2026 tournament. The organization cited the principle that every nation should have the chance to dream of playing at football's biggest event. FIFA would like more nations to have this chance. They are studying how to provide it.

The World Cup previously featured 32 teams. It was expanded to 48 teams for the 2026 tournament, in part to allow more nations to participate. This expansion was described as giving more nations access to the sport's highest stage. The expansion happened. More nations now have access. FIFA is now considering expanding it again so that even more nations have access. The dream is being made progressively more accessible.

(The 64-team format would represent a doubling of the field from the 32-team format that was in place for most of the World Cup's recent history. The 48-team format represented a fifty-percent increase. The 64-team format would represent another thirty-three-percent increase from there. The trajectory is upward. The number of nations on earth is approximately 195. The number of nations in the proposed World Cup field would be 64. There is still room to expand.)

A tournament with 64 teams requires more games, more venues, more days, and more logistical infrastructure than a tournament with 48 teams, which required more of all those things than a tournament with 32. The tournament grows each time the field grows. The host nations are required to provide facilities sufficient for the expanded tournament. The 2026 tournament has already arranged for this. The expanded tournament will require arrangements with future hosts. Those negotiations will happen after the current tournament, during which the current 48 teams are competing.

The dream, as FIFA describes it, is playing at football's biggest event. The event is big in part because not everyone gets to be in it. Expanding who gets to be in it makes the event more accessible. It also changes what kind of thing it is. FIFA is studying whether the change produces more dreaming or a different kind of dreaming. The study is ongoing. The 2026 World Cup begins first.