World Cup expansion formally discussed, but obstacles remain

A formal pitch has been made to FIFA to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams

A delegation of soccer officials from South America made the pitch at FIFA headquarters in New York on Tuesday, but it is far from a sure thing

The 2030 World Cup will be held across the largest geographic area in tournament history

Six countries on three continents will host games. Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco

But the South American countries want more than a handful of matches

and expansion is one way to do that. The tournament marks the 100th anniversary of the World Cup

Alejandro Dominguez, the president of Conmebol, South American soccer's governing body, wants to celebrate accordingly

He posted a message on Instagram which included a quote from the meeting with FIFA

saying it cannot pass by as just another event. It cannot be a normal World Cup

We see this as a once in a 100 year opportunity. The World Cup has grown significantly in recent decades

increasing from 16 to 24 teams in 1982, then expanding to 32 teams in 1998

The 2026 tournament has expanded to 48 teams and 104 matches and will kick off in the U Mexico and Canada next summer Critics say expansion will water down the competition during the tournament in addition to qualifying criteria and matches leading up to the event

There are also significant travel and logistical challenges when expanding from 104 matches to 128

UEFA President Alexander Safarin didn't pull any punches when asked for his opinion in April

This proposal was maybe even more surprising for me than for you

I think it's a bad idea. I think it's not a good idea for the World Cup itself

and it's not a good idea for our qualifiers as well, as you know

So I'm not supporting that idea. The Guardian reported Wednesday that despite the latest meeting

FIFA has no plans to expand, and it is duty-bound to consider any proposal raised

A source told the site, 64 teams would damage the World Cup, there'd be too many uncompetitive matches, and it would risk damaging the business model

Any decision to expand the World Cup in 2030 would need to be formally discussed by the FIFA Council, which meets in Zurich next month

The Guardian says the expansion topic is not yet on the agenda

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis