July 31 (Reuters) - FIFA is studying whether to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams for the 2030 edition, according to a document seen by Reuters, in a move that could reshape soccer's showpiece tournament when it celebrates its centennial.
World soccer's governing body wants to appoint an independent agency to assess the ambitious expansion plan, which would add another 16 nations to a tournament that had already grown from 32 to 48 teams in 2026.
"FIFA wishes to appoint an independent agency to determine whether and how expanding the FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 participating national teams, starting with the 2030 edition, would impact on the tournament proposition," it said in a research brief.
South American confederation CONMEBOL had officially proposed hosting the 2030 World Cup with 64 teams last year, allowing more countries the opportunity to join in the celebrations for the tournament's centennial edition.
The 2026 edition in the U.S., Canada and Mexico was the first since 1998 to move away from the 32-team format, adding four more groups and an extra knockout round in the process, resulting in 104 matches over more than five weeks.
The accelerated study comes on the heels of FIFA's plan to create a $20-billion subsidiary to run the World Cup and its other events with external investors, a move that has attracted criticism and a UEFA decision to boycott FIFA events.
Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.
'NOT A GOOD IDEA'
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said last year that expanding the World Cup to 64 teams was not a good idea.
The European governing body's position has not changed since then, while Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa had also voiced opposition, questioning last year where further expansion might end.
FIFA's proposed analysis is meant to assess whether the proposed expansion can strengthen the tournament or whether concerns such as competition dilution, calendar congestion, operational complexity and market saturation outweigh the potential benefits.
The study will examine the potential impact of expanding the tournament to 64 teams, including the effects on the competition, competitive balance, qualification, player welfare and the international calendar.
It will also estimate the revenues that could be generated from ticket sales, sponsorship and media rights under the proposed format.
"The final recommendation should demonstrate not only whether a 64-team tournament can generate incremental value, but whether that value is sustainable," the document added.
FIFA said a decision on selecting the agency would be made on August 14 and they would have only four weeks to deliver their analysis by September 11.
The 2030 World Cup is being jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain, while Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host one match each to celebrate the tournament's 100th anniversary.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ros Russell, Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris)
