FIFA President Gianni Infantino has sparked reactions after joking that Italy might finally qualify for the FIFA World Cup if the tournament is expanded to 64 teams.
The four-time world champions have endured a disappointing run in recent years, failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the 2022 edition in Qatar, and now the 2026 tournament in North America despite FIFA’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams.
Speaking to Brazilian digital broadcaster CazeTV ahead of the World Cup opener in Mexico City on Thursday, Infantino humorously referenced Italy’s qualification struggles while discussing proposals to further increase the number of participating nations.
“We have had discussions about expanding to 64 teams. The matter was presented to the FIFA Council,” Infantino said. “Maybe Italy qualify with 64 teams, or we could even go up to 208 teams,” he added with a laugh.
The proposal for a 64-team World Cup in 2030 is being championed by Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), as part of plans to celebrate the centenary of the tournament, which was first staged in Uruguay in 1930.
The 2030 World Cup will have matches hosted in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina as a tribute to the competition’s origins, while the main hosting duties will be shared by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
However, Infantino stressed that FIFA’s immediate focus remains on assessing the success of the newly expanded 48-team format before making any further decisions.
“We first have to see how this first World Cup with 48 teams goes,” he said.
Infantino’s remarks did not sit well with Italy’s Sports Minister, Andrea Abodi, who described himself as “perplexed” by the comments and indicated he would seek clarification from the FIFA president.
“Given that there is a big distance between Italy and Mexico, I’d rather speak to him on the telephone to understand what he meant,” Abodi said.
The comments have since generated widespread discussion among football fans, with many viewing the FIFA president’s remarks as a light-hearted jab at one of international football’s most successful but recently struggling nations.
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