FIFA President Gianni Infantino has withdrawn his support for the proposal to increase the number of national teams participating in the FIFA World Cup to 64. This was reported by Match TV, citing The Times.

According to the publication, Infantino stated that if he is re-elected to the FIFA leadership, he will not pursue plans to increase the number of participating teams in either the World Cup or the FIFA Club World Cup.

According to sources, with this decision, the FIFA president aims to ease the pressure on himself following disputes surrounding plans to sell television broadcasting rights for the World Cup, as well as to gain the support of representatives within the organisation who have doubts about its current leadership.

Earlier, the proposal to increase the number of World Cup participants to 64 national teams had sparked dissatisfaction within the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The organisation had even raised the possibility of withdrawing from FIFA competitions.

In addition, FIFA had planned to establish a company called FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would bring together the organisation’s commercial activities and the staging of football competitions by attracting private investors.

The next FIFA presidential election will take place in March 2027 at the organisation’s congress in Morocco. Gianni Infantino has been leading FIFA since 2016. In July 2026, he had stated that increasing the number of World Cup participants to 64 national teams was a possibility.

It should be noted that the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, was held for the first time in history with the participation of 48 national teams. Meanwhile, 32 teams currently compete in the FIFA Club World Cup.