The request is official: Alejandro Dominguez, president of CONMEBOL, made it clear in his opening speech at the Congress of the South American soccer confederation that he intends for the 2030 World Cup, which will be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, as well as Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (who will only host their own matches), to be a 64-team tournament.
“We are convinced that the centenary celebration will be something unique, because you only turn 100 once. And that is why we are proposing for the first time to hold this anniversary with 64 teams, in three continents simultaneously. So that all countries have the opportunity to experience a World Cup, and so that no one on this planet is left out of this celebration that, although it is played everywhere, is our celebration,” he said.
We are proposing, for one time only, to hold this anniversary with 64 teams, on three continents simultaneously
In his statements, Dominguez explained that this proposal is a one-off, as this World Cup will mark the 100th anniversary of the first edition of the tournament, which was held in Uruguay in 1930 and saw the local team crowned champions.
For now, the number of national teams participating in the next World Cup is set at 48 teams from the six different confederations, maintaining the expansion of places that will be in the next tournament in 2026 held in the United States, Mexico and Canada
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